By
Meena Menon
Former Pakistan president General(retd) Pervez Musharraf was charged with murder and criminal conspiracy in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case by an anti terrorism court on Tuesday in Rawalpindi. In a nation which has been ruled by the military for the best part, he is the first ex army general to be so indicted.
pic via: facebook.com/pages/Benazir-Bhutto
His lawyer Mr. Ilyas Siddiqui told The Hindu on the phone that the prosecution has summoned witnesses including journalist and friend of Ms Bhutto Mark Siegel. His statement reportedly recorded by the Federal Investigation Agency said that the former president telephoned Ms Bhutto and threatened her with dire consequences if she returned to Pakistan before the 2008 general elections.
The recording of evidence in the case will begin on August 27 and the trial will be held twice a week. The case was filed after Ms. Bhutto was killed while leaving from a political rally in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007 but it has dragged on since then. The present government gave it a fillip after General Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March for the general elections, ending a four year exile. The former military, ruler now 70 years old, has sought exemption from appearing in the court in future citing security reasons, which was granted by the judge Habibur Rehman. Six others including Saud Aziz and Khurram Shehzad, the two top policemen in charge in Rawalpindi in 2007 face similar charges including failing to protect Ms Bhutto.
Special public prosecutor Chaudhary Mohammed Azhar said that Musharraf pleaded not guilty to the charges. He said the former president was indicted on eleven charges and under various laws including the Anti Terrorism act. He clarified that Siegel was one of the main witnesses but he had not yet refused to testify in court. He only expressed reservations about coming here for security reasons. If he is assured security, he may come , Mr Azhar said and if he cannot, then the prosecution will seek permission for his testimony through a video link. The charges under the Anti terrorism act and of murder if proved, will mean the death sentence for the former head of state.
Meanwhile Musharraf’s political party has reacted with indignation. Aasia Ishaque, secretary , information , of the All Pakistan Muslim League, the party formed by Musharraf, said that the former army general faced threats from the Taliban and from the terrorists who had escaped from jail. “We are quite confident that the case is fabricated and politically motivated and there is no solid proof against him. Mark Siegel who was summoned to give evidence, did not appear in court the last time. Benazir had named other people too, why is the court not considering them? She wrote the letter to Musharraf first naming those people,” Ms. Ishaque pointed out.
The first joint investigation team set up by the Pakistan government did not name Musharraf and his name was added after he left the country, she said. Former interior minister of Pakistan Rehman Malik had said that all the culprits in the case had been apprehended, she added. “Why was Benazir told to come out of the sun roof of her car and who are the people who told her to? There are pointers to what happened that day and these questions need to be asked,” she added.
The PPP had demanded an investigation based on Ms. Bhutto’s letter to Musharraf in which she had named two chief ministers, and two top security and intelligence officials who should be investigated in the event of another attack on her life. After her death, the then government headed by Musharraf had pointed to the involvement of Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban leader, who is later said to have been killed in a drone strike.
COURTESY:THE HINDU