Pakistani top court issues orders for Musharraf's release

Pakistan's supreme court on Thursday issued orders for the release of former president Pervez Musharraf a day after he was granted bail in the murder case of senior tribal elder, Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed in a military operation during his rule in 2006. Musharraf has already got bails in two other cases including the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday granted bail to Musharraf and the judges observed that substantial evidence was not available to implicate the former president in the criminal conspiracy regarding Bugti's murder. Musharraf's lawyers on Thursday deposited two bail bonds of 1 million rupees each on the court's orders. The bail has raised speculations in the Pakistani media that Musharraf could go out of the country under a deal. The former president also faces high treason charges as the government has formally knocked at the doors of the apex court to begin the case for suspending the constitution. The government is not actively pursuing the case that is also seen as an indication of a change in the government's approach. Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March after a self-imposed exile to take part in elections but courts barred him because of his actions to sack an elected government and abrogate the constitution. He was arrested in three cases and detained at his Islamabad farmhouse for security concerns and threats from Taliban militants. Some petitions have been filed in courts for a ban on his leaving the country.