7 CHARGED WITH BENAZIR BHUTTO’S MURDER

Published November 6, 2011

7 CHARGED WITH BENAZIR BHUTTO’S MURDER

A Pakistani court, on Saturday 11/05/2011, has formally charged seven persons, including two senior police officers and five suspected Taliban fighters, for their alleged role in Benazir Bhutto assassination, officials said. Three other suspects, including the head of the Pakistani Taliban Baitullah Mehsud, have been killed. Mehsud was killed in a US UAV drone strike in 08/2009 (see – Ladha 08.05.09).

Bhutto, who had twice been prime minster, was killed in a shooting and suicide attack on 12/27/2007 in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad as she was leaving a park after addressing an election rally.

Chaudhry Azhar, the public prosecutor, said the judge of the anti-terrorist court read out the indictment on Saturday in the presence of the accused who denied the charges. The proceedings were held in a high security prison in Rawalpindi.

Two police officers, Saud Aziz, the chief of police at the time in Rawalpindi, where Ms Bhutto was killed, and Khurrum Shehzad, who were in charge of the security for Bhutto, were accused of negligence by failing to provide adequate protection on the day of the assassination. The five militants were charged with criminal conspiracy. They allegedly helped the bomber and the gunman.

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who was president when Bhutto was killed, was not charged.

He is wanted by the police in the case after the court issued an arrest warrant early this year, but has not been taken into custody. Property was officially confiscated from him in August 2011 after

“Musharraf has to be brought in… Until and unless the main suspect in the eyes of the public – that it Pervez Musharraf – until and unless you will not bring him in, things will not resolve. If we want justice to prevail, we must forget that Musharraf belongs to the Pakistan army or some other influences; we must bring him to the court,” Nadeem Iqbal said.

The killing of Bhutto swept her Pakistan People’s Party to power in 2008 and her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, became president (see – Wide-Implications).

So far nobody has been convicted, as the court proceedings have moved at a snail’s pace. In 1988, Bhutto became the first female prime minister of any Muslim country.