Former Prime Minister Of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, Assassinated

Investigators claim solid evidence against Musharraf in Bhutto's murder case

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/wo..._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/w...w/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/w...w/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/wo...stan.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-...d-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/pakis...e/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/mu...n-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/...de_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/pe...on-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/w...w/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.