Former Prime Minister Of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, Assassinated

ATC rejects plea of Musharraf’s wife

http://dawn.com/2013/03/03/ex-presi...n-return-atc-rejects-plea-of-musharrafs-wife/

RAWALPINDI: Only a few weeks before the possible return to country of former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday rejected the application filed by his wife against declaring her husband a proclaimed offender in Benazir Bhutto murder case.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in February 2011 had implicated the former president in the Benazir murder case and on February 12 ATC Judge Rana Nisar Ahmed issued non-bailable warrants of arrest of Mr Musharraf after his failure to appear before the court.

In May 2011, the same judge declared him a proclaimed offender and on June 11 he issued perpetual warrants for his arrest.

On August 27, ATC Judge Shahid Rafique ordered for confiscation of moveable and immovable properties of Mr Musharraf and seized his 11 bank accounts.

The court had proceeded under Section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for the attachment of the properties — a farmhouse in Chak Shahzad, a plot in Singhar Housing Colony, Gwadar, and bank accounts mentioned in a letter of the State Bank of Pakistan dated June 23, 2011.

Through her lawyer Sehba Musharraf in September 2011 challenged the court order declaring her husband a proclaimed offender and requested the release of the attached properties.

During the hearing, her lawyer Ilyas Siddiqui told the court that Musharraf had been declared a proclaimed offender in a hasty manner while he was abroad for some important engagements.

It had been settled by the apex court that a person could not be declared absconder under Section 87 of the CrPC if he had already left the country, he added.

He claimed that all the proceedings against Gen Musharraf were unlawful, without jurisdiction and against the principle of natural justice.

Mr Siddiqui pointed out that Islamabad High Court in October last year had admitted the petition for regular hearing regarding the ownership of the Chak Shahzad farmhouse and the court, after hearing the arguments of Mrs Musharraf’s lawyer, had issued a stay order in this matter.

According to the petition, Gen Musharraf resigned from the office of the president on August 18, 2008, and remained involved in social and family engagements till March, 2009. He kept travelling in and out of Pakistan and during all this time not a word was uttered by anybody about his involvement in the high-profile murder case.

It said the court committed an error wherein the titles of the above referred properties were not examined carefully. As a matter of fact, the farmhouse in Chak Shahzad belonged to the petitioner and the order for their attachment was liable to be withdrawn on this ground.

Out of the 11 bank accounts four were joint accounts and the court could not freeze these accounts, he added.

FIA’s special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali told the court that freezing of the 11 bank accounts was legal as Mrs Musharraf was a housewife, and was dependent on her husband.

He said that Gen (retd) Musharraf owned Rs110 million in 11 bank accounts, including four joint accounts and being a housewife it was not possible for Ms Musharraf to arrange such a huge amount on her own, adding that during the hearing her lawyer never disclosed her own source of income.

He pointed out that being a proclaimed offender Gen Musharraf would not be entitled for any relief unless he surrendered before any court of competent jurisdiction.

He contended that Mrs Musharraf was seeking relief for a fugitive and in the light of various judgments of superior judiciary her petition was not maintainable.

Chaudhry Zulfiqar told Dawn that Gen Musharraf would be arrested on arrival before or after the formation of a caretaker set-up. He said the ATC had issued perpetual warrants for his arrest and he could not evade the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which demanded his immediate arrest.

According to him, Gen Musharraf would be treated in accordance with the relevant sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 and after his arrest he would be produced before the court.

He, however, said the former president would avoid an arrest if he managed to obtain a protective/transitory bail from any high court.
 
Musharraf will be arrested as soon as he returns: Prosecutor

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com...n-as-he-returns-prosecutor/article4475432.ece

Islamabad, Mar 4: A top Pakistani prosecutor has said that former military ruler Pervez Musharraf will be arrested as soon as he returns to Pakistan from self-exile as an anti-terrorism court has issued “perpetual warrants” for him.

Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, a special prosecutor for the Federal Investigation Agency, said Musharraf would be arrested irrespective of whether he returned to Pakistan before or after the formation of a caretaker government to oversee the next general election.

Musharraf had announced last week that he intends to return to Pakistan a week after the installation of the interim administration to lead his party in the polls.

The Pakistan Peoples Party-led government will complete its term on March 16 and the caretaker set-up is expected to be formed the same day.

Ali told the media that the anti-terrorism court had issued perpetual warrants for Musharraf and he could not evade the Criminal Procedure Code, which demanded his immediate arrest.

The court issued the warrants and declared Musharraf a “proclaimed offender” or fugitive after he refused to cooperate with investigators probing the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Prosecutors have accused Musharraf of failing to provide adequate security to Bhutto when she returned to Pakistan from self-exile in 2007.

As a fugitive, Musharraf will not be entitled to any relief unless he surrenders to a court of competent jurisdiction.

Musharraf will be treated in accordance with relevant sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 and produced in the anti-terrorism court after his arrest, Ali said.

Musharraf would be able to avoid arrest if he obtains protective or transitory bail from any High Court, Ali said.

In a separate development, disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan has said that Musharraf will be sent to prison as soon he lands on Pakistani soil.

Khan told the media yesterday that Musharraf would languish in prison for a long period of time “before he is hanged like a convict murderer”.

“I am sure that he would be handed over to Balochistan authorities immediately after returning home (for) the assassination of Nawab Muhammad Akbar Bugti,” Khan said.

Musharraf has “no future as a free man” as he “spent a sinful and criminal life in Pakistan”, he claimed.

Musharraf was in power when Khan admitted to running a secret nuclear proliferation ring in 2004.

Khan was later placed under house arrest though the current government has removed many of the restrictions that were imposed on him.
 
Musharraf granted protective bail in Benazir, Bugti cases

http://dawn.com/2013/03/22/shc-grants-musharrafs-request-for-protective-bail/

3/24/2013

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday granted General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s request for protective bail in various cases pending against him, DawnNews reported. The cases in which the former military ruler has been granted bail include the Benazir Bhutto murder case, the case on the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and one pertaining to the deposing of Supreme Court judges.

The court moreover directed the former president to submit bail money amounting to rupees 100,000 in each case.

The 14-day-long protective bail was approved in response to a constitutional petition filed in the SHC by Musharraf’s daughter Ayla Raza on behalf of her father. The petition requested the court for protective bail so that the former ruler could appear in the trial court to defend himself.

The petition said Musharraf planned to return to the country but apprehended arrest for his alleged involvement in different cases, including Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, Akbar Bugti’ murder and the Lal Masjid operation case in which scores were killed.

Musharraf, who seized power in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in 2008, has vowed to return home on Sunday to contest the May 11 general election, but is wanted in Pakistan for conspiracy to murder and illegally arresting judges.
 
Musharraf banned from leaving Pakistan

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...nned-from-leaving-pakistan/article4564548.ece

3/30/2013

Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf was placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) by the Federal Investigation Agency on Saturday. The decision came a day after the Sindh High Court restrained him from leaving the country without permission.

Gen. Musharraf faces arrest in three high profile cases: The assassinations of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and former Chief Minister of Balochistan Akbar Bugti, and the illegal confinement of scores of superior judges including the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in 2007.

The former army chief’s daughter Ayla Raza applied for bail in all three cases just before his scheduled arrival in the country from self-exile on March 24. Bail was granted on March 22 and Gen. Musharraf landed in Karachi as planned.

He now plans to contest the upcoming National Assembly elections from three places: Islamabad, Karachi and Chitral.
 
Musharraf Is Arrested on Range of Charges in Pakistan

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/w...rrested-in-pakistan.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

By DECLAN WALSH
Published: April 19, 2013

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military leader, was arrested and taken into police custody on Friday — a move that was unprecedented in a country where the military has held sway for decades, and one that showed the determination of the judiciary to hold him accountable for his time in power.

A day after Mr. Musharraf fled a courtroom in dramatic circumstances to his fortified villa on the edge of the capital, Islamabad, the police took him to court in the central part of the city, where a magistrate placed him under arrest. Hours later, after briefly returning home, he was taken to the city police headquarters, where he was being held pending his next court appearance on charges relating to his battle with the country’s top judges while in office.

The travails of Mr. Musharraf, 69, a former army chief, furthered the humiliation of a figure who enjoyed absolute power in Pakistan for much of his rule, from 1999 to 2008. But it also raised new questions about why he returned to the country in the first place.

Little has gone well for Mr. Musharraf since he returned last month from four years of self-imposed exile, spent mostly in London and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. Shortly after his arrival, a critic flung a shoe at him in public. Since then he has been mostly confined to his villa, protected by a sizable security contingent guarding against the possibility of an attack by the Taliban, who have threatened to kill him.

Mr. Musharraf’s fledgling political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, failed to gain traction, and on Tuesday, the national election commission disqualified him from running for Parliament in elections scheduled for May 11. Until the drama of recent days, the news media had largely ignored him. Even his former comrades in the military appear to privately view him as more of a liability than an asset.

“Musharraf obviously overestimated his popularity,” Raza Rumi, a political analyst, said in an interview. “He was delusional in thinking he could ride out the storm, and he underestimated the resolve of the judges.”

“There are certainly people in urban Pakistan who think that things were better during his tenure,” Mr. Rumi added. “But the majority do not find him a credible leader. He ruled on the strength of his uniform. Now that uniform is gone, and Pakistan has changed.”

By late Friday, Mr. Musharraf was being detained on the grounds of the Islamabad police headquarters, in a guesthouse that is normally used to house visiting police officers. In a statement, a spokesman for Mr. Musharraf attributed his woes to “segments of overzealous judiciary, unscrupulous lawyers and fictitious petitioners” who were conspiring to prevent him from being elected.

The current case against Mr. Musharraf centers on his decision to dismiss and place under house arrest Pakistan’s top judges in November 2007, when he declared emergency rule in a bid to shore up his crumbling authority.

Separately, he faces charges in relation to the murders of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, and Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a nationalist leader of Baluchistan Province.

And some critics are even calling for him to be tried for high treason, a charge that carries a mandatory death penalty.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments about whether treason charges can be filed, although it appears that little can happen without the acquiescence of the current caretaker government.

That interim administration, which has little political weight, has tried hard to distance itself from the case, apparently preferring that the matter be taken up by the next elected government.

Ahmer Bilal Soof, the interim law minister, said the legal developments against Mr. Musharraf were taking place “hour by hour.” The Interior Ministry will submit a statement on the treason charges to the Supreme Court on Monday, he added.

Aides have portrayed Mr. Musharraf as relaxed, saying he had been smoking cigars at his villa since his dramatic courtroom dash on Thursday.

But that unflappable image was challenged on Friday when he returned to the Islamabad court, stone-faced and surrounded by tight security.

In a statement, Mr. Musharraf criticized the charges as “politically motivated” and vowed to fight them in court, “where the truth will eventually prevail.”

The United States government, which became closely allied with Mr. Musharraf after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, moved to distance itself from him. In a statement, the American Embassy in Islamabad stressed that it took “no position” on Mr. Musharraf or the legal proceedings against him.

Mr. Musharraf’s hopes for a political comeback now appear to be in shreds. He may have come home because he “hasn’t made his peace with being an ex-dictator,” Cyril Almeida, a columnist with Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, said in an interview.

“Once one of the most famous statesmen on Planet Earth, he probably misses the power and the limelight terribly,” he said.

Mr. Musharraf’s case has shaken the country’s political system at a delicate time. The sight of a former military leader being hauled through the courts is a striking image in Pakistan, where generals have ruled for about half of the country’s 66-year history.

No former military leader has ever been prosecuted in court for his actions while in power, although one, Gen. Yahya Khan, was placed under informal house detention for much of the 1970s after he lost the civil conflict that resulted in Pakistan’s eastern wing seceding to become Bangladesh.

Now Mr. Musharraf is partly at the mercy of his nemesis, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, whom Mr. Musharraf fired in 2007, setting off street protests that eventually led to his ouster.

Under Chief Justice Chaudhry, the Supreme Court has aggressively asserted its authority over the last year, having one prime minister fired and taking to task senior retired generals for their actions in rigging previous elections.

The country’s political leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, the opposition leader who is the favorite to become the next prime minister, have remained conspicuously silent about Mr. Musharraf.

Although Mr. Sharif had previously demanded that Mr. Musharraf face treason charges, he is believed to have come under pressure from the government of Saudi Arabia, which quietly wields considerable influence in Pakistan, to leave Mr. Musharraf, a retired four-star general, alone.

Many analysts view the prospect of treason charges with trepidation, fearing that they could prompt a more aggressive military role.

“Pakistan needs to punish people who abrogate the Constitution, but it must not be personalized,” Mr. Rumi said. “A whole crew of civilian and military personalities were involved in the process. Justice can only be done if all of them are taken to task.”
 
Musharraf arrested, kept in police HQ

http://dawn.com/2013/04/19/musharraf-surrenders-to-authorities-appears-in-court/

ISLAMABAD: General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was shifted to the police headquarters in Islamabad from his farmhouse residence at Chak Shahzad on Friday, hours after the former military ruler surrendered himself to the authorities in the judges’ detention case.

He surrendered himself earlier today before appearing in the court of judicial magistrate Raja Abbas Shah in Islamabad.

The judge issued an order for a two-day-long transit remand of Musharraf. The order also added clause 780-A pertaining to terrorism in the list of charges against the former army strongman.

During the hearing, petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Mohammad Bilal Mughal, requested the court for a 15-day-long physical remand of the former president, whereas Musharraf’s lawyer, Qamar Afzal, asked for a judicial remand for his client.

The court observed that the list of charges against Musharraf in the judges’ detention case entailed terrorism clauses which was why bail could not be granted to the retired general without him surrendering to authorities.

Moreover, police told the court that Musharraf’s life was in danger which was why his farmhouse residence needed to be declared a sub-jail.

Subsequently, the court added clause 780-A to the list of charges against Musharraf and ordered a two-day-long transit remand for the former president. An official at the court confirmed the order.

Musharraf will now appear before a special anti-terrorist court on April 21.

A spokesman for Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party said: “General Musharraf has been sent on a two-day judicial remand and he will stay at his farmhouse.”

APML spokesman Muhammad Amjad said the magistrate had ordered Musharraf to appear before an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi after two days.

“Musharraf himself surrendered before the court Friday morning,” Amjad said, denying media reports that he had been arrested prior to going to court.

Also today, Interior Minister Malik Muhammad Habib Khan informed the Senate that Musharraf was already in government’s custody and that the former military ruler‘s Chak Shahzad residence had been declared a sub-jail.

It is the first time that the judiciary has ordered the arrest of a former army chief of staff.

Musharraf had been on the run after fleeing from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in the wake of the cancellation of his bail on Thursday. Twenty-four hours had passed since Musharraf’s escape from the IHC.

His bail was cancelled in the judges’ detention case by IHC’s Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on Thursday.

In its written judgement, the IHC had ordered that: “He (Musharraf) be taken into custody and dealt with in accordance with law.”

Judges’ detention case
The case is based on an FIR against the retired general registered in August 11, 2009 on the complaint of Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam Ghumman advocate.

He had asked the police to initiate legal proceedings against Musharraf for detaining over 60 judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, after proclamation of a state of emergency in the country on November 3, 2007.

The case is one of three against Musharraf in Pakistani courts. He is also accused of involvement in a conspiracy to murder Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and over the 2006 killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Khan Bugti.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest the May 11 general election.

Election officials had barred Musharraf from running for the National Assembly earlier this week, effectively derailing his attempts to regain a place in politics by standing at the polls.

Although Musharraf’s legal battles have provided an electrifying sideshow in the election race, he commands scant popular support and the outcome of the drama is unlikely to have much impact on the final results.
 
Musharraf Denied Bail for Bhutto Assassination

http://www.voanews.com/content/musharraf-denied-bail-for-bhutto-assassination/1647781.html

VOA News

April 24, 2013 - A Pakistani court has rejected bail for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in connection with the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

A prosecution lawyer said Wednesday the high court had dismissed Musharraf's bail request and the former leader could be arrested for his involvement in the Bhutto assassination.

Musharraf had denied allegations that he was involved in the former prime minister's murder in December 2007.

The court's decision Wednesday is the second time that Musharraf has recently been denied bail.

He is currently under house arrest for dismissing top judges when he was in power in 2007.

Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999 and ruled for nearly a decade before he was forced to step down in 2008.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
 
Musharraf’s bail petition dismissed in Benazir murder case

http://dawn.com/2013/04/24/musharrafs-bail-petition-dismissed-in-benazir-murder-case/

RAWALPINDI: A division bench of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi registry dismissed the bail petition submitted by former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. The bail was dismissed on the grounds that Musharraf’s counsel did not pursue the case on bail plea.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar said that following the cancellation of his bail petition, Musharraf could be arrested any time now.

The bench had resumed the hearing over a petition filed by Musharraf seeking bail in the case pertaining to the murder of former two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

The bench had earlier given the counsel for the petitioner an hour’s time to makes make its argument over why the former military should be granted bail.

Musharraf’s counsel instead of giving his argument, had sought more time and requested the court to adjourn the hearing.

Prosecuting lawyer of the FIA had objected to the request arguing that Musharraf was already under detention on judicial remand at his Chak Shehzad residence, which was declares as a sub-jail after the cancellation of his bail in the judges detention case.
 
Pakistan investigators to grill Musharraf on Benazir Bhutto assassination

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/18268...ill-musharraf-on-benazir-bhutto-assassination

Thursday, Apr 25, 2013, 15:52 IST | Place: Islamabad/Lahore | Agency: PTI

Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman of the Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court on Thursday accepted a request from prosecutors to question Musharraf and to include him in the investigation into the 2007 assassination.

Pakistani investigators will grill former military ruler Pervez Musharraf about a "threatening" phone call and email to Benazir Bhutto after an anti-terrorism court on Thursday ordered his inclusion in the probe into the ex-premier's assassination in 2007.

Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman of the Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court on Thursday accepted a request from prosecutors to question Musharraf and to include him in the investigation into the 2007 assassination.

Special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said that a joint investigation team will question Musharraf on two issues – making a threatening phone call to Bhutto and sending an email that warned her not to return to Pakistan, and failing to provide adequate security to Bhutto after she came back from self-exile in 2007.

Musharraf's failure to provide adequate security to Bhutto "indirectly facilitated and helped terrorists in executing their plan to murder" her, Ali said.

Musharraf will also be quizzed on why he did not respond to five letters from Bhutto seeking foolproof security ahead of her return to Pakistan.

"Musharraf provided foolproof security to other leaders like (then) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz but ignored Benazir," he said.

Ali, who is part of the joint investigation team, said Musharraf will be questioned at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad, which has been declared a 'sub-jail'.

He said: "We had requested the anti-terrorism court to let Musharraf stay in (the farmhouse) because of security issues and the court accepted our plea."

The joint investigation team is expected to complete questioning Musharraf by May 3.

"We will complete the challan (chargesheet) after investigating him by May 3 and submit the same in the anti-terrorism court," Ali said.

Bhutto was assassinated by a suicide bomber after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

Earlier, the FIA requested the anti-terrorism court to include Musharraf in the probe a day after the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court cancelled the former military ruler's interim bail in the assassination case.

"The court gave FIA's joint investigation team permission to include Musharraf in the investigation and to arrest him," Ali told reporters outside the court.

"In view of security threats to the accused, the investigation is to be done at the sub-jail," he said, referring to the decision by authorities to detain Musharraf at his farmhouse because of threats to his life.

Ali said Musharraf would be presented in the anti-terrorism court tomorrow.

The joint investigation team will decide whether to seek physical or judicial custody of Musharraf, he said.

Legal experts said the FIA was completing formalities to include Musharraf in the probe and it was unlikely he would be moved from his farmhouse.

The High Court’s decision on Wednesday to reject Musharraf's request to extend his interim bail over Bhutto's assassination added to the legal woes of the ex-army chief, who is facing several serious criminal cases.

Lawyers have petitioned the Supreme Court to put him on trial for treason for imposing emergency in 2007 and he faces charges over the death of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation.

The 69-year-old former military ruler was arrested last week after the Islamabad High Court revoked his bail in a case related to the detention of over 60 judges during the 2007 emergency.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month after nearly four years of self-exile, promising to "save" the country from economic ruin and militancy.

However, he was barred from running in the May 11 general election, which will mark the first democratic transition of power in Pakistan’s history.
 
Musharraf to Remain Under House Arrest Until April 30

http://www.voanews.com/content/musharraf-to-remain-under-house-arrest-until-april-30/1649279.html

VOA News
April 26, 2013

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has placed former president Pervez Musharraf under house arrest until April 30 in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

The court in Rawalpindi ordered the former military ruler's arrest Friday. Musharraf appeared in court under tight security.

The former president is facing allegations he failed to provide adequate security to prevent the assassination of former prime minister Bhutto. Musharraf has denied involvement in the plot to kill her. Nobody has been convicted or jailed in the case.

Musharraf is already under house arrest at his residence on the outskirts of Islamabad on charges stemming from his firing of top judges when he was in power in 2007.

Musharraf lived in self-imposed exile for about four years before returning to Pakistan late last month with plans to run for parliament in general elections next month. Since his return, courts have ruled him ineligible for the poll.
 
Investigators claim solid evidence against Musharraf in Bhutto's murder case

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-04/30/c_132350602.htm

English.news.cn 2013-04-30 15:18:08

ISLAMABAD, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani investigators said Tuesday that they have "solid evidences" against former President Pervez Musharraf in connection with the killing of ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as a court ordered Musharraf to remain in judicial lock-up for two more weeks, local media reported.

Musharraf was not produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court on Tuesday over security concerns and the judge passed the order in his absence.

Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008 and returned from self-exile last month, has been accused of failing to provide adequate security to Benazir Bhutto when she returned to Pakistan from exile in 2007.

The former president has denied all charges and said that he was not directly responsible for Benazir's security and it was the responsibility of the local authorities.

The court on April 26 had remanded him for fours days to the Federal Investigation Agency, which is investigating the killing of Benazir Bhutto in a suicide bomb attack and firing in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Investigators told the court that they have completed questioning of the former president and do not seek more time. So the court sent him on judicial remand until May 14, a spokesman for Musharraf said. Musharraf will remain in prison on the day when Pakistanis will go to poll on May 11.

Chaudhry Zulfikar, a prosecutor, said that Musharraf has tried to shift his liability and responsibility on others in the case.

"There are solid evidences about Pervez Musharraf, which prove him guilty in the case," Zulfikar told reporters outside the court 's premises.

He said a joint investigation team has included all the evidence in the documents, "which directly connect the accused' with the incident.

He said that former Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also been asked to record his statement in the case as he had been in charge of Benazir Bhutto's security when she was attacked shortly after she spoke to her supporters.

The prosecutor also said that an American journalist Mark Siegel, who had claimed threats to Benazir Bhutto, will also record his statement during the proceedings.

Siegel, who has served as lobbyist for Bhutto in the United States had said earlier that he was with her in London when then President Pervez Musharraf called and threatened her. Musharraf had denied the allegations.

"Mark Siegel is a key witness in the case and he will be produced in the court during the proceedings to record his statement," Zulfikar said.

The then government of Musharraf had blamed Pakistani Taliban for the attack, but the charges were denied by the militants.

Five suspects are currently facing trial for Bhutto's assassination, who had denied any involvement.
 
Musharraf sent to judicial custody for 14 days in Bhutto case

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-days-in-Bhutto-case/articleshow/19796455.cms

AFP | Apr 30, 2013, 10.16 AM IST

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf will spend Pakistan's general election day under lock and key after a court on Tuesday extended his house arrest over the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

An anti-terrorism court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, put Musharraf on 14-day judicial remand over the death of the former prime minister, who was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in 2007.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month to stand in the May 11 general election, vowing to "save" the country from militancy and economic collapse but he was barred from running and will now spend polling day in his Islamabad villa, which has been designated as a jail.

The retired general was already under a two-week house arrest order set to expire on May 4, over the sacking of judges when he imposed emergency rule in November 2007, and did not appear in court in person.

"The court granted a 14-day judicial remand and ordered that Musharraf be kept in a judicial lock-up until May 14," prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar told AFP. The order was made to give investigators time to work on the case and the regular hearing is due to begin on May 3.

Musharraf is accused of conspiracy to murder two-time prime minister Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party (PPP) came to power in February 2008 on a wave of sympathy over her death. It is the second of three cases, dating back to his 1999-2008 rule, for which Musharraf has been arrested since returning to Pakistan on March 24 after four years of self-imposed exile.

Musharraf is being held at his palatial house on the edge of Islamabad where his party complained that he has been confined to two rooms and stripped of his personal staff. He also has been threatened with death by the Taliban. Nobody has ever been convicted or jailed for Bhutto's assassination. Musharraf's government blamed the killing on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who denied any involvement and was killed in a US drone attack in 2009. But Bhutto's son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is PPP chairman, has accused Musharraf of her murder. In 2010 a UN report said Bhutto's death could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to give her adequate protection.
 
Court bans Pervez Musharraf from polls for life

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-from-polls-for-life/articleshow/19811577.cms

Omer Farooq Khan, TNN | May 1, 2013, 03.01 AM IST

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf's plans to stage a political comeback were virtually sealed on Tuesday after the Peshawar high court banned him from contesting polls for life while another court remanded him in judicial custody till three days after the May 11 parliamentary polls.

The high court's ruling came on an appeal by the former president who had challenged the rejection of his nomination papers for the national assembly seat in the north-western hill-station of Chitral. "Since Musharraf had abrogated the Constitution twice, he could not be allowed to contest elections for either the National Assembly or Senate," the four-member bench, headed by chief justice of the high court justice Dost Muhammad Khan, said while dismissing his plea.

The 69-year old former military dictator returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile on March 24 to head his All Pakistan Muslim League in the May 11 general elections. He had filed nomination papers from four constituencies, but his candidature was rejected in each of them. His appeals against dismissal of papers from other seats - Islamabad, Karachi and Kasur in Punjab - were rejected earlier.

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the garrison city of Rawalpindi sent him to a two-week judicial remand in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case. The court fixed the next date of hearing on May 14, three days after the polls. Bhutto was killed in a deadly bomb and gun attack in December 2007 after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh. The court had framed charges against Musharraf in the case in February 2011, and in August that year he was declared a proclaimed offender. The ex-army chief, already in judicial custody in the judges' detention case after imposing emergency in November 2007, was not produced in the court for security reasons.

The court gave permission to the Balochistan police to question Musharraf in the case relating to the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. Bugti was killed in a military offensive in the mountainous Dera Bugti region in southwest in August 2006 when Musharraf was president and army chief.

Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, special prosecutor of Federal Investigation Agency ( FIA), told media after the hearing that Musharraf was not cooperating with the investigation team in the Benazir assassination case.

The Rise & Fall of the General
  • Promoted as army chief superceding three generals shortly before the Kargil conflict that he masterminded in 1999
  • Seized power in a bloodless coup in October '99 to become one of Pakistan's longest-serving rulers
  • Ordered storming of Islamabad's Red Mosque along with its adjacent seminary in 2007; Over 100 killed
  • Resigned in August 2008 & left Pakistan under the shadow of impeachment and lawyers' movement
  • Returned to Pakistan in March 2013 to contest general elections
  • Faces three criminal cases including treason for imposing emergency, arresting judges in 2007
  • Arrested after fleeing a local court as it cancelled his bail in April
 
Prosecutor in Bhutto Killing and Mumbai Attacks Assassinated in Pakistan

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/w...ai-attacks-assassinated-in-pakistan.html?_r=0

By DECLAN WALSH
Published: May 3, 2013

MULTAN, Pakistan – Gunmen fatally shot a Pakistani prosecutor who had been investigating the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the 2008 Mumbai attacks, carrying out an assassination that threw into turmoil Pakistan’s most politically charged cases..

Assailants opened fire on Chaudhry Zulfikar Ali as he drove to work from his home in a suburb of the capital, Islamabad, for a court hearing in which the former military leader, Pervez Musharraf, faces charges in relation to Ms. Bhutto’s death in 2007.

Initial reports said that gunmen traveling by motorbike and car sprayed Mr. Ali’s car with bullets, lightly wounding his bodyguard and killing a woman passer-by when his car veered out of control. Television footage from the scene showed a bullet-riddled car crashed by the roadside.

Mr. Ali died before he reached a hospital in Islamabad, where a doctor said he had been shot 13 times. Police said that Mr. Ali’s bodyguard returned fire and managed to wound one of the attackers, who then fled the scene.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and the police said it was too early to comment on a possible motive. But few doubted it was linked to Mr. Ali’s work as a state prosecutor in some of the most sensitive cases in the country, and his death reinforced the vulnerability of senior government officials who challenge Islamist militants and other powerful, if sometimes hidden, interests.

Mr. Ali represented the Federal Investigation Agency, which has implicated Mr. Musharraf in the case of Ms. Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007, just before the last election. But he was also involved in another sensitive case: the trial of seven people from the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba who have been charged with orchestrating the Mumbai attacks of November 2008, which killed more than 160 people.

Mr. Ali was to appear in both cases this week. After the previous hearing of the Bhutto case on April 30, Mr. Ali told reporters he had “solid evidence” that connected Mr. Musharraf with Ms. Bhutto’s death.

Since Mr. Musharraf’s return from exile last month, investigators have questioned the former president about the security arrangements for Ms. Bhutto in 2007.

Rehman Malik, an aide of Ms. Bhutto and a former interior minister, has accused Mr. Musharraf of failing to provide Ms. Bhutto with adequate security. Mr. Musharraf has denied those accusations and insisted that, as head of state, he was not involved in administrative matters.

Mr. Ali was due to appear in court on Saturday for another highly sensitive case, this one involving Islamist militancy and relations with India.

Seven members of the banned group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India, have been on trial since 2009. They stand accused of orchestrating the slaughter from Pakistan and include the group’s operational head, Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi. But the hearings have been characterized by opacity and a lethargic pace.

The trail is taking place at Adila jail in Rawalpindi, ostensibly on security grounds, and the media is barred from proceedings. Hearings have been repeatedly adjourned due to the absence of lawyers or the presiding judge. Currently, defense lawyers are cross-examining the prosecution witnesses.

Mr. Ali’s death comes at a sensitive time, with Pakistanis due to go to the polls for a general election on May 11. Campaigning has been marred by widespread Taliban violence against candidates from secular parties.

Mr. Musharraf, who returned from exile in order to contest the election last month, faces charges in several cases related to his time in power, including the murder of Ms. Bhutto, the killing of a Baloch nationalist leader, and the firing of senior judges.

Mr. Musharraf has been disqualified from contesting the election and earlier this week a court banned him from politics for life. The retired general also faces possible treason charges, although no decision will be taken until a new government is formed after the May 11 election.

A lawyer for Mr. Musharraf condemned the killing shortly afterward and said that killers should be brought to justice.

In the court hearing in nearby Rawalpindi, lawyers for Mr. Musharraf argued that he should be exempted from appearing in person in the case, Pakistani television stations reported. The hearing was adjourned until May 14.
 
BB murder case prosecutor shot dead in Islamabad

http://beta.dawn.com/news/795313/bb-murder-case-prosecutor-shot-dead-in-islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Two unknown assailants on motorcycle killed The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) special prosecutor in the Benazir Bhutto murder case Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali on Friday, DawnNews reported.

According to the police, state prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar was shot multiple times by gunmen in Islamabad’s G-9 area as he was driving to the next hearing in the murder case of the former prime minister, who was assassinated more than five years ago. Following the attack, he was taken to Islamabad’s main government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in a severely injured condition where he succumbed to his injuries.

Doctors said he had been killed with ten bullets targeting his chest and shoulder.

Zulfiqar had been given extra government security last year after police investigators working on the Benazir Bhutto case received threats, which also named him.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shooting.

“I cannot comment. I’m in a state of shock,” Zulfiqar’s deputy Azhar Chaudhry told AFP when asked to comment.

Moreover, the firing incident also killed a woman and injured Chaudhry Zulfiqar’s guard Rehman Ali when he lost control of his vehicle.

Later, Zulfiqar’s body was shifted to the hospital’s morgue and a medical team was being constituted to perform postmortem. Wasim Khawaja, spokesman for PIMS, confirmed that his bodyguard was out of danger.

Police subsequently cordoned off the site of incident and started a search operation in the area.

Rawalpindi and Islamabad High Court (IHC) Bar Association’s lawyers announced a strike in the wake of the attack.

Interior Minister Malik Habib Khan has also taken notice of the incident.
 
Pakistan's Musharraf Granted Bail in Bhutto Murder Case

http://www.voanews.com/content/pakistans-musharraf-granted-bail-in-bhutto-murder-case/1664563.html

May 20, 2013

A Pakistani court has granted bail to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in a case related to the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf is accused of failing to provide adequate security to Bhutto, who was gunned down in December 2007 at a political rally in Rawalpindi. He has denied any involvement and says the allegations against him are politically motivated.

Despite being issued bail, Musharraf will remain under house arrest at his home on the outskirts of Islamabad on separate charges.

Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, is also accused of ordering the illegal detention of judges when he imposed military rule in 2007.

Musharraf seized power in a 1999 military coup and ruled for nearly a decade before he stepped down in 2008 and later fled into exile. The 69-year-old returned in March to stand in last week's general election, but he was barred from running due to the charges.
 
Musharraf gets bail in Benazir case

http://beta.dawn.com/news/1012696/musharraf-gets-bail-in-benazir-case

RAWALPINDI, May 20: A perceivably friendly prosecution led to grant of bail to former president retired General Pervez Musharraf in the Benazir Bhutto murder case by the Anti-Terrorism Court here on Monday.

ATC Judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman ordered release of the former army chief on bail on submission of Rs2 million surety bonds. But he will remain in his farmhouse till obtaining bail in cases pertaining to judges’ detention and Nawab Akbar Bugti’s murder.

During the course of arguments, the special prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raised no objection to the bail application of Mr Musharraf. Instead, he suggested a heavy surety amount.

He said: “Gen Musharraf would escape from the country if the court releases him on bail but depositing a heavy amount as surety might prevent him from going abroad.” If he went abroad, he said, the surety amount might be of some use to the national exchequer.

After the murder of Ms Bhutto on Dec 27, 2007 the Punjab government constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) which submitted a charge-sheet without nominating Gen Musharraf.

On Aug 6, 2009 the investigation was transferred to the FIA and the following year its JIT implicated Gen Musharraf in the case.

According to the JIT report, Gen Musharraf was upset by the speeches of Ms Bhutto against the imposition of emergency in November 2007. It said that the Musharraf government did not provide adequate security to the former prime minister despite her repeated requests.

After the assassination of Ms Bhutto, Gen Musharraf ordered then director general of the National Crisis Management Cell to hold a press conference “with the motive to influence subsequent police investigation”, it said. The report mentioned an email sent by Ms Bhutto to US lobbyist Mark Siegel on October 26, 2007 in which she said that Gen Musharraf should be held responsible if she was killed.

Before this, she had written a letter to Mr Musharraf, forewarning that then chief minister of Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, former director general of Inter Services Intelligence Hameed Gul and former chief of Intelligence Bureau Ejaz Shah had hatched a conspiracy to get her assassinated.

Mr Musharraf’s counsel Barrister Salman Safdar said his client had gone abroad after resigning as the president and the FIA had implicated him in the case during his stay abroad. He returned to the country on his own to prove his innocence.

He said Mr Musharraf had been implicated in the case merely on grounds of suspicion. Though Ms Bhutto had suspected that some people might get her killed, those people were never interrogated or made to face a trial.

He said the case had been lingering on for over five years which proved that the prosecution was not interested in bringing it to an end. Transfer of investigation from one to another agency and submission of two charge-sheets indicated that the case was being used for political purpose and not for reaching the ends of justice, he argued.

The court dismissed a post-arrest bail application of Abdul Rasheed, another accused in the Bhutto murder case, after hearing arguments of his counsel Rao Abdul Rahim and the FIA special prosecutor.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Rahim alleged that prosecution had not been “friendly” to his client unlike its attitude to Mr Musharraf. Legal expert Faisal Hussain Chaudhry said even if Mr Musharraf obtained bail in the cases of judges’ detention and Akbar Bugti’s murder, he could not go abroad because his name had been placed on the Exit Control List.

During the hearing of ‘high treason’ case, the Supreme Court ordered the interior ministry last month to place the name of Gen Musharraf on the ECL.

The counsel of Mr Musharraf has already moved the apex court for removing his name from the list.

Mr Musharraf’s lawyer in the high treason case, Ahmed Raza Kasuri, told AFP: “He will get free from all cases one by one…He will stay in the country and won’t go abroad…Rumours that he will go abroad before Nawaz Sharif takes charge of the prime minister office are false.”
 
PML-N govt to try Musharraf for treason: Sharif's aide

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world...sharraf-for-treason-sharif-s-aide_851300.html

Lahore: The incoming PML-N government is ready to hold the trial of former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf over charges of treason, a party leader said on Tuesday.

The caretaker government that conducted the May 11 polls had refused to initiate proceedings against Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution for treason because of its limited mandate, but the PML-N has decided not to spare the former Army chief who had overthrown the government of Nawaz Sharif in 1999.

"Yes we have decided to try Musharraf for treason in the Supreme Court. Musharraf had violated the Constitution and he should face the music," PML-N parliamentarian Tariq Azeem said.

Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif was very clear about trying Musharraf for violating the Constitution, he said.

"Sharif has made it clear that he has no personal issue with Musharraf but he should be tried for breaking the law and violating the Constitution," Azeem said.

The caretaker government recently informed the Supreme Court of its inability to conduct the trial of Musharraf.

It told the apex court it could not take any controversial step that would be irreversible for the incoming elected government.

The PML-N won the General Election and Sharif is set to become premier for a record third term.

Musharraf is currently being held at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad, which has been declared a "sub-jail".

He is facing charges over the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation and the detention of dozens of judges during the 2007 emergency.
 
Pervez Musharraf formally indicted in Pakistan judges' detention case

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/p...cted-in-pakistan-judges-detention-case-380247

Press Trust of India | Updated: June 16, 2013 15:00 IST

Islamabad: An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad formally indicted former President Pervez Musharraf over the detention of several judges during the emergency rule he imposed in 2007.

69-year-old General Musharraf was indicted during a hearing of the case held at his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad yesterday by anti-terrorism court Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi. He was indicted under provision of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Pakistan Panel Code.

After the charges against him were read out, General Musharraf refused to accept them and pleaded not guilty. He filed an application for his acquittal due to lack of evidence. The judge then summoned 23 prosecution witnesses for the next hearing on June 21.

Officials said the trial of General Musharraf had formally begun with his indictment. The proceedings are being held at his farmhouse, declared a sub-jail by authorities, for security reasons.

The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has said it will target General Musharraf for ordering operations against militants during his regime.

The case over the detention of the judges is based on an FIR filed against General Musharraf in August 2009. The FIR itself is based on a complaint by a lawyer named Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam Ghumman.

Ghumman had asked police to initiate proceedings against Musharraf for detaining over 60 judges, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, after imposing emergency on November 3, 2007. The case is one of three against General Musharraf in courts within Pakistan.

He has also been charged for the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto and the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Khan Bugti in a military operation in 2006. The case is being heard by the anti-terrorism court even though Ghumman announced last month that he would not pursue his complaint.

The former president returned to Pakistan in March after nearly four years in self-imposed exile to contest the general election. However, he was arrested shortly after his arrival and a court barred him from contesting polls for the rest of his life.
 
Musharraf formally indicted in judges' detention case

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...udges-detention-case/articleshow/20615953.cms

Jun 16, 2013, 02.56 PM IST

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in the Pakistani capital has formally indicted former president PervezMusharraf over the detention of dozens of judges during the emergency rule he imposed in 2007.

Musharraf, 69, was indicted during a hearing of the case held at his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad yesterday by anti-terrorism court Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi. He was indicted under provision of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Pakistan Panel Code.

After the charges against him were read out, Musharraf refused to accept them and pleaded not guilty. He filed an application for his acquittal due to lack of evidence.

The judge then summoned 23 prosecution witnesses for the next hearing on June 21.

Officials said the trial of Musharraf had formally begun with his indictment. The proceedings are being held at Musharraf's farmhouse, declared a sub-jail by authorities, for security reasons.

The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has said it will target Musharraf for ordering operations against militants during his regime.

The case over the detention of the judges is based on an FIR filed against Musharraf in August 2009. The FIR itself is based on a complaint by a lawyer named Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam Ghumman.

Ghumman had asked police to initiate proceedings against Musharraf for detaining over 60 judges, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, after imposing emergency on November 3, 2007. The case is one of three against Musharraf in courts within Pakistan.

He has also been charged for the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto and the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Khan Bugti in a military operation in 2006. The case is being heard by the anti-terrorism court even though Ghumman announced last month that he would not pursue his complaint.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March after nearly four years in self-imposed exile to contest the general election. However, he was arrested shortly after his arrival and a court barred him from contesting polls for the rest of his life.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top