An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday indicted two former police officers and five militants in the murder case of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
On Saturday, special ATC judge Shaid Rafique resumed the hearing of the case at Adiala Jail. All accused, including former CPO Saud Aziz and SP Khurram Shahzad, were present in the court when they were indicted. The police officers and other accused denied the charges and demanded trial. The police officers were accused of security breach and failure to provide protection to Benazir Bhutto during her last public meeting. They were charge sheeted for sending away a contingent of four cars providing Benazir’s Prado jeep box security, neglect of duties, ordering a hosing down of the crime scene before collecting evidence and not conducting autopsy of citizens killed with Benazir in 2007 blast at Liaqat Bagh. They were also accused of being part of ‘conspiracy’ to kill Benazir Bhutto.
The five other accused, said to be affiliated with banned militant outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are Sher Zaman ,Hasnain Gul, Abdul Rasheed, Rafaqat Hussain, and Aitzaz Shah. They are accused of preparing a suicide bomber and bringing him from the tribal areas to Rawalpindi to carry out a suicide attack on the rally. All seven accused deemed the charges made against them ‘baseless and cruel’. Accused Sher Zaman refused to sign the charge sheet. After framing charges, Judge Shahid Rafique directed the prosecution to produce witnesses to the court on next hearing and adjourned the hearing of the case till November 19. Former military dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf, living in self-imposed exile in England , is also a wanted criminal in the murder case. The ATC had issued his arrest warrants in February. The former president is accused of failure to provide Benazir Bhutto adequate security. He was also accused of being part of the ‘broad conspiracy’ to assassinate his political rival before the 2007 general elections.
Declaring him a proclaimed offender, the ATC had ordered his bank accounts be frozen and his property confiscated. Later, Musharraf’s wife Sehba Musharraf filed an application with ATC against the freezing of accounts and confiscation of property. On Saturday, the ATC briefly heard Sehba’s application but Sehba’s lawyer was not present before the court and the court deferred the matter till November 19. A UN inquiry commission report released last year said any credible investigation should not rule out the possibility that members of the military and security establishment were involved in the killing, though it did not say who it believed was guilty.
