Former Prime Minister Of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, Assassinated

U.N. Bhutto assassination inquiry report delayed

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100330/tpl-uk-pakistan-bhutto-un-81f3b62.html

7 hours 26 mins ago
Reuters

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has accepted an urgent request from Pakistan to delay presentation of a U.N. report on the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the world body said on Tuesday.

The report on a nine-month inquiry by a three-person U.N. panel, was originally due to be presented by Wednesday, but Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari requested it be delayed until April 15, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Nesirky gave no reason for the Pakistani request.

The panel, headed by Chile's U.N. Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, looked into the circumstances surrounding the attack that killed Bhutto after an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi city on December 27, 2007.

Nesirky told reporters that the report was completed and was ready for delivery. But he said neither Secretary-General Ban nor the Pakistani government had seen it.

Ban set up the panel at the request of Pakistan's coalition government, led by Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party.

The previous government, headed by allies of former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf, blamed then Pakistani Taliban leader and al Qaeda ally Baitullah Mehsud for Bhutto's murder. Mehsud was killed in a U.S. drone strike last August.
 
UN slams deliberate failure to adequately probe Bhutto assassination

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0415/slams-deliberate-failure-adequately-probe-bhutto-assassination/

By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, April 15th, 2010 -- 9:05 pm

bhutto horizontal UN slams deliberate failure to adequately probe Bhutto assassinationPakistani police deliberately failed to properly probe the 2007 murder of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto which could have been averted if there had been adequate security, a UN-appointed independent panel said Thursday.

"Ms Bhutto's assassination could have been prevented if adequate security measures had been taken," said the report by a three-member panel headed by Chile's UN ambassador Heraldo Munoz.

The panel said responsibility for Bhutto's security on the day of her assassination rested with "the federal government, the government of Punjab and the Rawalpindi district police."

"None of these entities took the necessary measures to respond to the extraordinary, fresh, urgent security risks that they knew she faced," it added.

The panel said it believed that Pakistani police's failure to probe the slaying effectively "was deliberate."

"These officials, in part fearing intelligence agencies' involvement, were unsure of how vigorously they ought to pursue actions, which they knew, as professionals, they should have taken," it added.

The panel said the Pakistani probe "lacked direction, was ineffective and suffered from a lack of commitment to identify and bring all of the perpetrators to justice."

It added it was up to Pakistani authorities to carry out a "serious, credible criminal investigation that determines who conceived, ordered and executed this heinous crime... and brings those responsible to justice."

The Munoz-led panel was tasked with establishing the facts and circumstances of the slaying and was not empowered to identify culprits.

Bhutto, the first woman to become prime minister of a Muslim country, was killed on December 27, 2007 in a gun and suicide attack after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital Islamabad.

Bhutto's supporters have cast doubt on an initial Pakistani probe into her death, questioning whether she was killed by a gunshot or the blast and criticizing authorities for hosing down the scene of the attack within minutes.

Munoz earlier Thursday turned over the report to UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

Pakistan's UN Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, who was to have addressed the press after receiving a copy of the report, canceled the press encounter and was to take the report back to Islamabad.

The panel unwrapped the long-awaited, sensitive report after complying with Islamabad's request for a two-week delay.

Pakistan said last week it had asked that the release, initially scheduled for March 30, be delayed so that input from Afghanistan, the United States and Saudi Arabia could be included.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said he had asked the UN-appointed, three-member panel to include input from former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Saudi Arabia in its report.

He did not elaborate further on what information he wanted to be included.
 
Govt to file murder case against Musharraf: Badar

http://thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=103829

Updated at: 2200 PST, Wednesday, April 28, 2010

KARACHI: Central Secretary of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Jehangir Badar has said that a case will be lodged against Pervez Musharraf by the state in the wake of UN Report on the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto.

He was addressing a press conference on the occasion of launching membership campaign of the party in the province. He was accompanied by PPP Sindh President and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah besides other PPP leaders here on Wednesday.

Jehangir Badar said the assassins of Benazir Bhutto’s will not be identified on the basis of personal enmity but by acting within the parameters of justice and rule of law.

In his remarks on the 18th amendment of the Constitution, the PPP’s senior leader said it has now become part of the Constitution and implementation on the same will soon be ensured.

He, however, said although the concurrent list has been abolished the devolution of powers from the Federation to provinces cannot be made overnight.
 
Be nice to me if you want protection, Mush told Benazir

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ion-Mush-told-Benazir/articleshow/5884482.cms

5/2/2010

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf had warned Benazair Bhutto that if she wanted protection in Pakistan she should be "nice" to him, a top ex-aide of the assassinated leader has claimed.

According to the Sunday Times report, former premier Benazir had called Musharraf, then the President of Pakistan, seeking additional security for her. "He told her, 'I warned you not to come back until after the elections,' and threatened her, 'I'll only protect you if you're nice to me,'" said Husain Haqqani, a former Bhutto aide who was living in the US and is now Pakistan's ambassador in Washington. "Instead of stepping up her security, it was reduced," he said.

She was even told not to travel in vehicles with tinted windows, as this was against the law of the local government. She appealed to the US and British officials who had helped negotiate her return. "I called everyone" said Haqqani. "I even got the US ambassador in Pakistan, Anne Patterson, to visit her."

"Patterson wasn't nice to her," said Bhutto's cousin Tariq Islam. "She harped on, 'You must not talk against Musharraf.' The Americans never trusted her."

The Sunday Times wrote, "Benazir Bhutto was brought back to Pakistan from exile as part of an international deal. Then she was killed — and all traces of evidence were immediately swept away."
 
Pakistan court issues warrants over Bhutto's death
Pakistan court issues warrants for 2 police officers accused of negligence in Bhutto's killing

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/pakistan-court-issues-warrants-bhuttos-death/

Dec 05, 2010 05:26 EST

A Pakistani court has issued arrest warrants for two police officials accused of failing to provide proper security for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on the day she was assassinated. They are also accused of cleaning the crime scene before evidence could be collected.

Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali identified the men Sunday as former Rawalpindi police chief Saud Aziz and Superintendent Khurram Shahzad.

Ali said the two could be arrested at any time. The officials could not be reached for comment.

Bhutto was killed in 2007 just weeks after returning to the country from self-imposed exile.

A U.N. commission in April said her assassination could have been prevented. It blamed all levels of government for failing to provide adequate security.
 
Pakistani investigators name Musharraf accused in Benazir's murder case

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/07/c_13721840.htm

English.news.cn 2011-02-07 19:19:14

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Investigators Monday requested an Anti-Terrorism Court to declare former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf absconder in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, prosecutors said.

Benazir Bhutto, the two times Prime Minister of Pakistan, was killed in firing and suicide attack in the garrison city of Rawalpindi in Dec. 2007 when Musharraf was ruling the country.

The Musharraf government had blamed the then Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsood for Benazir's killing, a charge denied by Pakistani Taliban.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the killing of Benazir Bhutto.

The investigators Monday presented a report in the court in Rawalpindi, listing Musharraf as one of the accused in the case. The documents said that Pervez Musharraf had been issuing instructions to then two senior police officers, responsible for the security of Benazir Bhutto.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar told the court that Musharraf had been named as an "absconding accused" as he has shown lack of cooperation.

A United Nation inquiry report said last year that the attack on Benazir Bhutto could be averted if tight security measures had been taken.

The anti-terrorism court is conducting the trial of five suspects, including members of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, who have been charged with planning and facilitating the assassination. All have denied any involvement.

A prosecutor for the FIA told the court that Musharraf had been called several times in connection with the investigation but he did not appear and he has been declared absconder.

The prosecutor requested the court to declare Musharraf as absconder until the next hearing on Feb. 12, and if he failed to appear at the court, he should be declared proclaimed offender.

The investigators also produced forensic report of Benazir Bhutto's BlackBerry phone, she had used on the day of her murder.

A spokesman for Musharraf dismissed the FIA report as a politically motivated move and said it is aimed at hiding the real causes of the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf, who has been living in self-exile in Britain since April 2009, has said that he intended to return to Pakistan before the next general election in 2013. He formed a new party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, with an eye to the next polls.
 
Hearing of pleas for extradition, trial of Musharraf put off

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\02\09\story_9-2-2011_pg7_14

Staff Report
2/8/2011



LAHORE: Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday deferred until February 24 the hearing of two identical petitions seeking extradition and trial of former president Pervez Musharraf on high treason charges.



The judge postponed the hearing until February 24 as the counsels for the petitioners and respondent did not appear before the court. 

Justice Saeed had directed the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP) to personally appear before the court on January 27.

The petitioners, Aziz Ahmed Awan and Ghazi Illmuddin advocate, had levelled 15 allegations of different nature against Musharraf.



They submitted that the former military dictator had manhandled lawyers and booked several of them on false charges while they were protesting against his November 3, 2007 acts.

They alleged that he had killed thousands of seminary students during the Jamia Hafsa operation in Islamabad, compelled nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan to accept a false charge of selling nuclear technology.

They also alleged that Musharraf had ordered killing of Nawab Muhammad Akbar Khan Bugti and was also involved in the Karsaz incident in Karachi.



The petitioners’ counsel submitted that Musharraf had joined the United States in its war against terror after the 9/11 without the nation’s consent and also handed over innocent citizens to it.

Illmuddin, one of the petitioners, alleged that the retired general had also prepared a plot to kill Benazir Bhutto.

The petitioners requested the court to direct the federal government to lodge a case against Musharraf under Article 6 of the constitution.

They also sought his extradition and issuance of red warrants against him.
 
Benazir was promised she would be PM: Forensic report

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Benaz...ld-be-PM-Forensic-report/Article1-660228.aspx

Indo-Asian News Service
Islamabad, February 09, 2011
First Published: 11:39 IST(9/2/2011)

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto had been assured that she would be the prime minister after the 2007 general elections, revealed a forensic report that was compiled after retrieving data from her personal BlackBerry phones. An email begins by calling her "Respected Prime Minister".

The Express Tribune said that one of her close associates informed Benazir through an email that the then US secretary of state and the then head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had also given the nod.

A team of experts of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have managed to retrieve five dozen e-mails from the two BlackBerry phones of the slain leader.

An e-mail sent by a leading PPP leader Oct 23, 2007, to Benazir Bhutto said: "Respected Prime Minister (Benazir Bhutto), the United States confirmed that a crucial message had been sent to intelligence agencies of Pakistan, specifically not to interfere in party affairs and stay away from the electoral process. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and director-general Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) have done a secret deal for your (Benazir Bhutto) premiership."

"Congratulations Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and warm regards.”

The e-mails are going to provide crucial help in the probe into her unsolved killing.
Bhutto was assassinated Dec 27, 2007, as she was leaving Liaquat Bagh in a motorcade after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi.

A teenaged shooter was seen aiming for her head in the CCTV footage before a powerful suicide blast killed at least 24 people participating in the rally.

The interior ministry at that time accused the Taliban of plotting to kill Bhutto while the doctors said as she was standing in her vehicle "her head banged against the lever of the sunroof of her vehicle, which caused her death".

A few days prior to her killing, Benazir sent an email to American journalist Ron Suskind. While referring to then president Pervez Musharraf, she said that Musharraf had given an alarming message: “You (Benazir) should understand that your security is based on the state of relations between you and me (Benazir and Musharraf).”

Benazir expressed dissatisfaction over her security in an e-mail Oct 26, 2007 sent to her advisor in Washington DC, Mark Siegel.

She wrote: “Nothing will happen, just wanted you to know. If it does, in addition to the names in my letter to President Musharraf, I would hold Musharraf responsible. I have been made to feel insecure by his minions and there is no way what is happening in terms of stopping me from taking private security or using tinted windows of four police mobiles to cover all sides could happen without him (Musharraf).”

Bhutto also sent an SMS message to noted interviewer Daphne Barak. In reply to an SMS message, Barak wrote: “Bibi, you are going to Pakistan. It’s a trap for you now. But you are insisting to go back.”

The FIA's Forensics Lab has retrieved the crucial data from the BlackBerry phones. Nearly 400 hundred contact numbers have been saved.

FIA's latest investigation report, compiled by head of investigation team Khalid Qureshi, said: “Musharraf was equally responsible for facilitation and abetment of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto through his government and justified failure in providing her the requisite security protection that her status demanded twice. There was a security lapse.”

Former president Pervez Musharraf's name was Monday included in the list of accused in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

Musharraf's name was added to the list following a statement of former Rawalpindi city police chief Saud Aziz.

Aziz claimed that Musharraf had given the order to change Benazir's security in-charge. He also claimed that the murder scene was immediately washed on Musharraf's orders.

Musharraf ruled Pakistan for nine years after taking power in a bloodless coup in 1999. He stepped down in 2008 and left Pakistan. He now lives in London.

In December last year, Pervez Musharraf was sent a questionnaire by the interior ministry regarding Bhutto's assassination during his presidency.
 
Warrant For Musharraf Over Bhutto Murder

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wo...est_Warrant_Over_Benazir_Bhutto_Assassination

11:38am UK, Saturday February 12, 2011

A court in Pakistan has issued an arrest warrant for London-based former president Pervez Musharraf over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Pervez Musharraf is farewelled by the Pakistan army

Pervez Musharraf is not expected to comply with the court's ruling

Pakistani Television says anti-terrorism court judge Rana Nisar Ahmad issued the warrant and ordered Mr Musharraf to appear before the court on February 19.

Mr Musharraf's spokesman Saif Ali Khan has said the former president will not comply with the request.

Ms Bhutto was killed on December 27, 2007, in a gun and suicide bomb attack as she was travelling in a car while campaigning in Rawalpindi for forthcoming elections.

Her death, which came just weeks after she had returned to her home country following eight years of self-imposed exile, sparked international outrage.

Many of Ms Bhutto's supporters accused former military leader Mr Musharraf - who was president at the time - of not doing enough to ensure her protection.

He left Pakistan for London more than two years ago.

Last April a UN report said that Pakistan intentionally failed to investigate Ms Bhutto's assassination properly, and hampered a United Nations inquiry.

"While she died when a 15-and-a-half-year-old suicide bomber detonated his explosives near her vehicle, no one believes that this boy acted alone," the report said.

"The commission was mystified by the efforts of certain high-ranking Pakistani government authorities to obstruct access to military and intelligence sources."

The report said Mr Musharraf was aware of and tracking the many threats against Ms Bhutto.

But his government "did little more than pass on those threats to her and to provincial authorities", it said.

Ms Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, is the current president of Pakistan.
 
Pakistan Issues Arrest Warrant for Musharraf

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Pakistan-Issues-Arrest-Warrant-for-Musharraf---116077289.html

2/11/2011

Pakistani officials say an anti-terrorism court has issued an arrest warrant for former President Pervez Musharraf in connection with the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Authorities say Judge Rana Nisar Ahmad issued the warrant Saturday, ordering Mr. Musharraf to appear in court on February 19.

Mr. Musharraf has been in exile in London for more than two years.

Ms. Bhutto was assassinated in a gun and suicide bomb attack on December 27, 2007, while campaigning in the city of Rawalpindi. Ms. Bhutto was running as leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party in national elections.

Her widower, Ali Zardari, led the Pakistan People's Party to victory, and is now president.
 
Musharraf will not comply with Pakistan warrant

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/world/-/1068/1106142/-/4hm5g3z/-/

By AFP
Posted Saturday, February 12 2011 at 13:52

Former president Pervez Musharraf will not comply with a warrant for his arrest issued by a court in Pakistan over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, his spokesman in London said Saturday.

"No, he won't be going back for this hearing," Fawad Chaudhry, a spokesman for Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League party, told AFP, adding that the warrant was "totally ridiculous."

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court earlier Saturday ordered Musharraf, who is currently in self-imposed exile in London, to appear for a hearing on February 19 over claims about the assassination of ex-premier Bhutto in 2007.
 
Arrest Warrant for Pakistan's Ex-President

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20031636-503543.html

February 12, 2011 8:13 AM

ISLAMABAD - An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has issued a warrant for the arrest of the country's former president, General Pervez Musharraf in connection with the 2007 killing of the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in a move that potentially reopens a bitter chapter from the country's troubled political history.

Musharraf, a close ally of former U.S. President George W Bush, has lived in exile since 2008, dividing his time between the U.K. and Dubai, after he resigned to avoid a parliamentary impeachment by newly-elected politicians.

Bhutto, a westernized liberal politician, was killed in a 2007 gun and grenade attack, right after she emerged from a high profile political rally in Rawalpindi, the main suburb of Islamabad, ahead of the country's national elections.

Mohammad Ali Saif, a Pakistani barrister and a member of Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League (APML,) confirmed the arrest warrant to CBS News, and said that it appeared to be built on a political vendetta launched by President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's husband, and Pakistan's prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.

"The case has no legal basis. It is just a political drama, a vendetta," Saif said.

A senior Pakistan government official said the warrant was issued on the basis of findings by the main federal police, known as the FIA or Federal Investigation Agency.

"The FIA found enough evidence to recommend General Musharraf's arrest so that he is presented in court" said the government official who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.

An initial investigation right after Bhutto's killing noted the involvement of Baitullah Mehsud, a notorious Taliban militant, for having put together a conspiracy to carry out the attack.

"In the past, our leaders have been telling us, the killing of Benazir Bhutto was done by Baitullah Mehsud. Suddenly, where does President Musharraf fit in to the picture? This sounds quite questionable," Saif told CBS News.

Musharraf himself has repeatedly refuted claims that either he or the army or the intelligence services had any involvement in Bhutto's killing. But a report by a United Nations appointed commission of inquiry made public last year said the possibility of the involvement of Pakistan's military and security establishment could not be ruled out.

While the case surrounding Musharraf will have little immediate bearing on Pakistan's relations with the outside world, notably the U.S., western diplomats in Islamabad warned that any further acrimony surrounding the country's politics will be looked at with further concern by the Obama administration.

"Bitter political infighting in Pakistan will of course be of concern to the US, just at a time when the US is trying to establish closer relations with Pakistan" said one senior western diplomat who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity. "Every time the matter of President Musharraf becomes a high profile issue, there are some in Pakistan who remember the undemocratic character of his military regime and the backing he received from the U.S. Ultimately, this feeds in to anti-U.S. sentiment which is already strong in Pakistan."

Meanwhile, in a case related to anti-US sentiment in Pakistan, watched with interest from Washington, a second Pakistan government official on Saturday confirmed that Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the former foreign minister, dropped on Friday from a newly-appointed cabinet, left the government "amid irreconcilable differences on relations with the U.S."

Speaking to CBS News on condition of anonymity, the official revealed that differences between Qureshi and key leaders (notably Zardari and Gilani) widened when Qureshi refused to allow the foreign ministry to certify that Raymond Davis, a U.S. official arrested in Pakistan following his killing of two Pakistani men last month, was a serving US diplomat.

While U.S. officials have claimed that Davis was a serving diplomat and therefore armed with diplomatic immunity from prosecution, Pakistani officials refuse to accept the U.S. view. On Friday, a Pakistani judge in the city of Lahore ordered Davis to be sent to prison for two weeks to await a trial.
 
Pakistan court issues a non-bailable warrant for Pervez Musharraf

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_pakistan-court-issues-a-non-bailable-warrant-for-pervez-musharraf_1506751

2/11/2011

Days after former president Pervez Musharraf was made an accused in the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, a non-bailable arrest warrant was today issued against him to secure his presence in the court to stand trial.

Judge Rana Nisar Ahmed Khan of the Pakistani anti-terrorism court, conducting the trial of five suspects charged with involvement in Benazir's assassination, issued the warrant Musharraf.

The court made the move after Chaudhry Zulfiqar, the prosecutor for the Federal Investigation Agency, argued that Musharraf should be declared an absconder for failing to cooperate in the investigation into the assassination.

The court directed Musharaf to appear before it at the next hearing on February 19.

But, Musharraf's legal advisor Muhammad Ali Saif told PTI there was "no possibility" of the former President appearing in court and said the court's decision to issue a warrant was "politically-motivated".

Prosecutors told the court that further progress in investigating Bhutto's assassination was not possible without Musharraf's presence.

They said they had tried repeatedly to contact Musharraf but he had refused to cooperate.

They also said he should be declared a wanted fugitive if he did not appear for the next hearing.

The judge also considered statements by former Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema and former Intelligence Bureau chief Ejaz Shah, who said they had acted on Musharraf's instructions in matters related to the
assassination.

Cheema has told investigators that he was acting on Musharraf's instructions when he announced at a news conference shortly after the assassination that the Taliban were behind the killing.

The FIA had named Musharraf as an "absconder" earlier this week for failing to cooperate with investigators.

Talking to reporters shortly after the court issued the warrant, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said the government would provide any sort of cooperation that was requested by the court.

"We will provide whatever help the court wants. We can even contact the Interpol (regarding Musharraf)," she said.

"It is up to the court to decide what sort of intervention or support it wants," Awan added.
 
US ignored Bhutto's plea for evaluation of security: WikiLeaks

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...of-security-wikileaks/articleshow/8496209.cms

21 May, 2011, 11.24PM IST,PTI

NEW DELHI: Just two months before she was killed in a terror attack, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had approached then US Ambassador in Islamabad asking for help to evaluate her personal security but it was ignored, latest WikiLeaks cables have revealed.

Bhutto handed over a written request to US Ambassador Anne W Patterson two months before she was killed asking her to carry out an evaluation of the security because she feared for her life, say the WikiLeaks cables, accessed by news channel NDTV.

The cables reveal that the US chose to look the other way, suggesting that Benazir should work constructively with General Pervez Musharraf's government -- the same organisation that Benazir insisted was out to kill her.

Benazir made the request to the US Ambassador immediately after a terror strike killed more than 130 people at a rally organized by the Pakistan Peoples Party on October 18, 2007 in Karachi. The rally was organised to welcome her after her eight years' exile in Dubai and London.

According to the cables, Bhutto told the US Ambassador that she did not believe that the Pakistan Government was giving the security that she needed and she was under severe threat.

Suspecting Musharraf administration's hand in Karachi attack, Bhutto also complained of shoddy Pakistan Government probe into Karachi terror strike, it said.

But Anne Patterson , whatever reasons, decided not to do that, it said.

Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007, after departing a party rally in Rawalpindi , two weeks before the scheduled Pakistani general election of 2008.
 
Benazir Bhutto assassination case: Anti-terrorism court to indict seven offenders

http://tribune.com.pk/story/236149/...ti-terrorism-court-to-indict-seven-offenders/

By Mudassir Raja
Published: August 21, 2011

An anti-terrorism court is likely to formally indict seven accused men in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case on August 27, the next date of hearing.

The court will formally initiate the trial of Hasnain Gul, Rafaqat Hussain, Abdul Rasheed, Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman affiliated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, former city police officer Rawalpindi Saud Aziz, and former SP Khurram Shahzad for their alleged role in the murder of the former premier outside the historic Liaquatabad Bagh on December 27, 2007.

Special Judge Shahid Rafique was informed on Saturday that the prosecution had provided certified copies of investigation reports, legal documents and incriminating evidence to the lawyers of the seven accused facing the trial. The two police officers’ lawyers had been demanding copies of the statements of all police officers and politicians accompanying Bhutto to prepare their defence.

The court directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) reinvestigating the case in the light of the UN commission inquiry report to send a last rejoinder to the GHQ and DHA authorities for details of former president Pervez Musharraf’s property, who is cited as a proclaimed offender in the case. The court will formally attach Musharraf’s movable and immovable assets and issue perpetual warrants for his arrest.

The FIA has accused Hasnain and Rafaqat with providing residence and transport to the suicide bomber, Rasheed Ahmed for being a part of the conspiracy and Aitzaz Shah, a minor and Sher Zaman for concealing the murder plot. Saud Aziz is accused of destroying vital evidence after the terror attack by hosing down the crime scene and not allowing Bhutto’s postmortem. SP Khurram is also accused of destroying evidence at the crime scene. Musharraf is accused of threatening Bhutto with dire consequences if she returned to Pakistan and of trying to influence the post murder investigation by arranging a premature press conference.

The court has already declared former TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud and six other activists as proclaimed offenders.

In a related development, the court directed the administration of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) to award Rasheed Ahmed with the medal and certificate on the next date of hearing in Adiala jail for his performance in the secondary school certificate examination.

Rasheed alias Abdul Rasheed Turabi had obtained 848 out of 1050 marks. His lawyer informed the court that he stood third in the BISE among the boys in the humanities group but the jail authorities did not allow him to go to the BISE office to receive his award.

An official appeared in the court on Saturday and said the boy was formally invited but he was not taken to the ceremony for security reasons.
 
Musharraf's assets' seizure ordered

http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=21617&title=Musharrafs-assets-seizure-ordered

8/27/2011

RAWALPINDI: Anti-terrorist court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has ordered authorities to take control of former president Pervez Musharraf’s tangible assets i.e. property, bank accounts, etc. in Benazir Bhutto murder case, Geo News reported Saturday.

The decision was made after a FIA report containing information regarding the assets of the former president was presented before the court.

FIA officials informed the court that Musharraf owned a farmhouse in Chak Shahzad, Islamabad and a plot in the Gwadar Housing Society, while his bank accounts are worth Rs80.90 million at the moment.
 
Pakistani court orders confiscation of Musharraf's assets

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-08/27/c_131078886.htm

English.news.cn 2011-08-27 21:55:51

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- An Anti-Terrorism Court in Pakistan Saturday ordered confiscation of property of former President Pervez Musharraf for his failure to appear before the court in the 2007 murder case of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, court officials said.

The court has already declared Pervez Musharraf as an " absconder" in the assassination case of Benazir Bhutto as he has not agreed to clarify his position in court despite several notices.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had requested the court to summon Pervez Musharraf who was President at the time of the assassination, but he had refused a request to cooperate in the investigation into Bhutto's death.

Following the lack of cooperation by Musharraf, he was named as an "absconding accused", FIA prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar said.

The FIA on Saturday presented a final report in the court about Pervez Musharraf's refusal to appear and the court issued orders to confiscate property of the former president. Local media reported that the court has also ordered to freeze Musharraf's bank accounts.

The court ruled that the trial of Musharraf will be started separately from other accused and after he is arrested.

The anti-terrorism court is conducting the trial of five terror suspects including alleged members of the Tehrik-e- Taliban Pakistan who have been charged with planning and facilitating the assassination.

Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber shortly after she addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

The chargesheet further said that former Rawalpindi Police chief Saud Aziz and former Superintendent of Police Khurram Shahzad, who were arrested this year by the FIA on charges of negligence in providing security to Bhutto, were acting on the orders of Musharraf. Both former police officers were bailed out and are now being tried in the case.

The FIA's charge against Musharraf is one of a long list of legal and criminal cases against the former president who resigned in August 2008 and it could cause problems for his planned return to Pakistani politics.

Musharraf, who has been living in self-exile in Britain since April 2009, said that he planned to return to Pakistan before the next general election in 2013.

He has also formed a new party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, with an eye to the next polls.
 
Beating around the bush

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/13/beating-around-the-bush.html

by Irfan Waheed on January 13th, 2012

Soon after President Pervez Musharraf was forced out of office in August 2008, he went into self-imposed exile. Since then, the government has had abundant time to build a case against him. They had an embarrassment of riches to choose from in terms of preparing a case against him. Despite all that, all they have to show for their efforts is this:

In May 2011, a Rawalpindi court declared former military ruler Pervez Musharraf a Proclaimed Offender in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

In October 2011, a Quetta court issued an arrest warrant for Pervez Musharraf over the killing of Akbar Bugti.

Hardly something to strike fear in the heart of a former commando.

As Musharraf muses over his homecoming date, Interior minister Rehman Malik has attempted to deter him from returning with the threat of a ‘possible arrest’. Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan has been more direct, stating that Musharraf will be arrested from the airport when he returns.

Even if he is jailed on arrival, there is a good chance he would be released. Mrs Musharraf has already challenged the court order declaring him a proclaimed offender.

One gets the feeling that Musharraf is not losing any sleep over these threats.

In fact, in a sign of the political savvy he has acquired in his exile years, he has declared that the cases against him don’t “stand on any solid legs at all.” He also added that “these are politicised cases and I have no responsibility in the two major cases.”

This rhetoric rings a bell. Both the PPP and PML (N) have consistently dismissed all cases against them as being political in nature. Not only have these parties thrived, they have also entered the corridors of power. In mimicking their rhetoric, Musharraf has taken a leaf out of their book. Perhaps he is holding out hope to mirror their political fortunes as well.

Government officials whose views are of any consequence at all seem to be conveniently ignoring the 500 pound gorilla in the room: Article 6. Musharraf suspended the constitution twice; and even though he got legal cover for his first indiscretion, the second offence has been conveniently deposited in the dustbin of history.

All this despite the fact that in July 2009, the Supreme Court had declared Musharraf’s Proclamation of Emergency (issued November 3. 2007) as being “un-constitutional, ultra-vires of the Constitution and consequently being illegal.” Mindful of the limits of its jurisdiction, the Supreme Court turned down a request to try Musharraf for treason, as the responsibility lies with parliament to decide whether to lay such charges.

In the presence of the aforementioned Supreme Court judgment, one wonders why the government does not develop a consensus to hold Musharraf to account for his actions in the fateful fall of 2007. Musharraf himself has admitted to the fact that his act was unconstitutional. In an interview with the BBC in November 2007, he is quoted as saying:

“Have I done anything constitutionally illegal? Yes, I did it on 3 November.”

The disturbing reality is that the Pakistani state has degenerated to the point that the power brokers use the law only to settle scores. But even if one assumes that the powers-that-be are adopting such a diabolical approach, it still stands to reason that one should (mis)use the law which gives the best chance to pin down one’s opponent. In the light of the July 2009 judgment and Musharraf’s statement quoted above, the government’s reluctance to initiate Article 6 proceedings against him defies logic.

Perhaps there is more to this saga than meets the eye. Or maybe we are seeing a manifestation of a theory put forth by Benjamin Franklin when he said: “Laws too gentle, are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed.”

Democracy is not a guarantee for justice nor is it a substitute for it. But we have been told that ‘democracy is the best revenge’. This is little solace for the masses who have had revenge exacted on them for crimes unknown, but I digress.

Then again, there are nations who don’t even have this opportunity afforded to them. In the case of Musharraf, it seems like his fate will have to be decided by the people. With everything else that is brewing, the mother of all elections is looming on the horizon.
 
Pakistan 'will arrest Musharraf if he returns'

http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...ocId=CNG.4580757baf91bd9343cc5b7e43af0aeb.231

By Sajjad Tarakzai (AFP) – 22 hours ago

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan will arrest former military ruler Pervez Musharraf should he return as announced at the end of the month from three years of self-imposed exile, the interior minister said Wednesday.

"I assure this house that if he lands in Pakistan, he will be arrested because he is a PO (proclaimed offender)," Rehman Malik told the upper house of parliament.

"There are three registered cases against him. He has been named in these cases, so ultimately he will be arrested."

In a telephone address to a political rally in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi on January 8, Musharraf promised to fly home between January 27-30 to contest general elections now widely expected later this year.

"I'll land in Karachi despite all sorts of dangers to my life," he said.

"I can sacrifice my life if need be for the people of Pakistan."

Musharraf seized power in 1999 in Pakistan's third military coup, becoming the country's fourth military ruler.

He was forced to step down as president in August 2008 after the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) formed a government following elections. Since then, he has divided his time between London and Dubai.

But in October a Pakistani court issued a warrant for his arrest over the killing of Akbar Bugti, a Baluch rebel leader in the insurgency-torn southwest who died in a cave hideout during an army raid in August 2006.

In February 2011, another court issued a warrant for his arrest over the 2007 assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, saying he failed to provide adequate security to protect her.

In 2009, a criminal case was registered against him over his 2007 state of emergency and detention of judges as he attempted to cling onto power.

Few in Pakistan are thought to want Musharraf to return and the army has stopped short of publicly guaranteeing his safety against the arrest warrants.

A spokesman for Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) on Wednesday left the door open to the retired general changing his mind on returning.

"We are not afraid of arrests," party official Mohammad Ali Saif told AFP.

"We are in consultation with party leaders in this regard and Pervez Musharraf will take the final decision."

The authorities in Karachi stood by the threat of arrest.

"We'll go by the order of the court," provincial home minister Manzoor Wassan told AFP in Karachi, capital of the southern province.

"We have made arrangements for him in prison," he added.

A security official said forces had been ordered to tighten security from January 27-30 in Karachi "to avoid any untoward incident".

On October 19, a suicide attack targeting Bhutto's homecoming killed at least 139 people in Karachi, to date Pakistan's deadliest militant attack.
 
Pervez Musharraf postpones Pakistan return, aide says
Pervez Musharraf addressing Karachi rally via video link from Dubai Gen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16766967

Former President Pervez Musharraf has decided to postpone his return to Pakistan, one of his aides says.

Mr Musharraf had previously vowed to end his self-imposed exile and fly back to Pakistan by the end of this month to revive his political career.

He faces arrest on arrival as he is accused of failing to provide adequate security for former PM Benazir Bhutto ahead of her assassination in 2007.

The former military ruler, who stepped down in 2008, denies wrongdoing.

On Friday Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani repeated that Mr Musharraf would be arrested if he did return.

'Threatened'
Mohammad Saif, general secretary of Mr Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League, told journalists in Dubai: "Gen Musharraf will return to Pakistan, that's for sure.

"But we are waiting for the tension between the government and the Supreme Court to subside.

He told journalists in Dubai that the government would seek to use Mr Musharraf's return to divert attention from its failures.

Mr Saif gave no date for Mr Musharraf's return.

In early January, Mr Musharraf had told a Karachi rally via video link from Dubai that he would be in Pakistan from 27 to 30 January and planned to participate in parliamentary elections, which are due by 2013.

"I've been threatened and warned but I'm not one of those who gets scared or backs down," he told supporters. "I've fought wars. I'll come to Pakistan."

The former president has described the case against him as "baseless" and politically led.

Little support
Correspondents say few people in Pakistan believe the country's former military ruler is the answer to its many problems.

The government is currently locked in a three-way struggle with the judiciary and Pakistan's powerful military establishment.

Relations with the US have hit new lows in recent months, principally over concerns about Pakistan's role in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Gen Musharraf led a military government which ruled Pakistan from 1999.

His supporters were defeated in parliamentary elections in February 2008, and Gen Musharraf resigned in August that year under threat of impeachment.

Pakistan's current president is Asif Ali Zardari, who is the widower of Benazir Bhutto.
 
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