Former president Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday was released two days after a court granted him bail in the murder case of Ghazi Abdul Rashid and his mother during the Lal Masjid operation in 2007. An official said that Additional District and Sessions Judge Wajid Ali issued the release order, and the jail officials had received it. The Adiala jail authorities released him following months of house arrest. The local administration on April 2 this year had declared Musharraf's farmhouse a sub-jail.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Wajid Ali on November 4 granted bail to Musharraf and directed him to deposit two surety bonds worth Rs100,000 each. Musharraf is accused of ordering Lal Masjid crackdown in 2007 in which Abdul Rashid Ghazi and his mother, Sahib Khatoon were killed. Musharraf's name is placed on Exit Control List (ECL), which means he cannot leave the country without the approval of the government.

Musharraf has been released from jail after he obtained bail in cases, including Akbar Bugti murder case, judges detention case, Abdul Rasheed Ghazi murder and Benazir Bhutto murder case. It is pertinent to mention here that federal capital police arrested former president on October 10 on charges of alleged murder of Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and his mother during the Lal Masjid operation after he got bail in Bugti murder case. The capital police had registered FIR against Musharraf following the directives of Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2013