Musharraf's role suspected in case of missing scientist

Islamabad: A district court in Pakistan has passed an order against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in connection with the mysterious disappearance of a nuclear scientist during his tenure.

Media reports on Saturday said the district and sessions judge in the city of Abbotabad in North West Frontier Province passed the order on Friday on a petition by the father of the missing person.

According to reports, the court ordered the police to declare Musharraf a proclaimed offender and confiscate his property if he did not cooperate with a probe into the case of the missing scientist.

Atiqur Rahman, who had worked at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, went missing on June 25, 2004 and his family members suspect he was picked up by an intelligence agency.

The judge, Abdul Makeen Khan, issued the order on an application field by the missing man's father, Siddiqur Rahman.

The complainant urged the court to take action against Musharraf for his alleged involvement in his son's disappearance.

Recently a murder case was registered by the police in Balochistan against Musharraf over the 2006 killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation.

The former president, who stepped down last year, is currently in the US.