Former Prime Minister Of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, Assassinated

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Pakistani court orders confiscation of Musharraf's assets

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english201..._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.

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Beating around the bush

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/13/beati...-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.

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Pakistan 'will arrest Musharraf if he returns'

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...7e43af0aeb.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.

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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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Pakistan to ask Interpol to arrest ex-president

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501712_1...-ex-president/

2/21/2012

(AP) ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's interior minister says the government will ask Interpol to arrest ex-President Pervez Musharraf in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Rehman Malik said Tuesday that Pakistan was seeking Musharraf's arrest because he allegedly failed to provide adequate security for Bhutto.

Legal expert Hashmat Habib said Interpol, an international police organization, has the right to detain Musharraf and hand him over to Pakistan if it chooses to issue a warrant.

Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack on Dec. 27, 2007, near Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

Musharraf has been living in London and Dubai since he resigned in 2008.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party controls the current government.

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Zardari knows who killed Benazir: Musharraf Denies involvement

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrin...D=12639&Cat=13

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

RAWALPINDI: Former president Pervez Musharraf has said that President Asif Ali Zardari knows well who are the killers of former premier Benazir Bhutto and that Interpol will not get involved.

Musharraf on Tuesday reacted strongly to Rehman Malik’s briefing to lawmakers in the Sindh Assembly in which the interior minister flagrantly accused the former president of having involvement in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Talking to various TV channels, Musharraf vehemently denied the allegations, saying that he had responsibly informed the the threats to her life before the first attack.

He slammed the report of the assassination probe as being unfounded, saying: “The UN report on Benazir’s killing is baseless”. “I was not in contact with the slain PPP chairperson after October 18,” he further affirmed. He said it was by no means the duty of the president to provide security to the former prime minister, who had returned to the country voluntarily.

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Pakistan moves Interpol for Musharraf's arrest

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/w...ntenttarget=no

PTI | Mar 1, 2012, 02.44PM IST

Pakistani authorities have sent a formal request to Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, currently living outside the country in self-exile.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have sent a formal request to Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, currently living outside the country in self-exile.

The move was taken so that he can be arrested and brought back to the country to face trial in connection with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

The Federal Investigation Agency yesterday sent the request to the Director of Interpol in Pakistan, official sources said today.

FIA Special Prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry confirmed to the media that the process to bring Musharraf back to Pakistan had begun.

Interior minister Rehman Malik last week announced that the government would bring Musharraf back to face trial for his alleged failure to provide security to former premier Benazir Bhutto at the time of her assassination in 2007 despite being aware of threats to her life.

Musharraf has been declared a "proclaimed offender" or fugitive by an anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of seven persons accused of involvement in the assassination.

The court also directed authorities to seize Musharraf's assets and to freeze his bank accounts.

Special Prosecutor Chaudhry said an officer of the FIA's joint investigation team probing the assassination had handed over an application for the Red Corner Notice to Interpol's representative in Pakistan.

After scrutinising the application, the Interpol representative will forward it to Interpol headquarters in France, he said.

Once the Red Corner Notice is issued, Musharraf can be detained anywhere in the world and brought back to Pakistan so that he can be produced in court, official sources said.

Musharraf has been living in London and Dubai since he left Pakistan in early 2009 after several criminal and civil cases were filed against him across the country.

Meanwhile, a media report today said the British government may not extradite Musharraf even if Pakistan obtains a Red Corner Notice against him as the two countries do not have an extradition treaty.

The News daily, quoting a senior unnamed British diplomatic source said that not only Musharraf but a number of people from various countries living in Britain are wanted by their governments on different counts.

As long as they obey the law in Britain, they are not deported, the source claimed.

Musharraf has not sought asylum in Britain but is staying as a guest who respects "British laws faithfully", the daily quoted its sources as saying.

"We have no problem with his staying in the United Kingdom," a source said.

Musharraf recently put off his plans to return to Pakistan in March after the government warned that he would be arrested on arrival.

The former dictator had planned to return to the country to lead his All Pakistan Muslim League party in the next general election.

He has denied allegations that he was in any way involved in Bhutto's assassination and said he is willing to face Pakistani courts.

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Pakistan posts Musharraf summons for March 22

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...73f7f0cf95.831

(AFP) – 5 hours ago

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities on Tuesday posted a summons demanding that former military ruler Pervez Musharraf return from exile and appear before the country's top court on March 22.

The notice was glued to the gate of Musharraf's farm house on the outskirts of Islamabad after he failed to respond to repeated calls to appear over the December 27, 2007 murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf, who has lived in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai since stepping down in 2008, delayed plans to return home this year indefinitely after the government warned he would be arrested upon arrival.

"Yes, I can confirm that a notice has been pasted on the main gate of Musharraf's farm house," Sheikh Naeem, a senior police official, told AFP.

The notice asks Musharraf to appear in the Supreme Court on March 22 with documents proving his identity as a Pakistani citizen.

Bhutto was killed in a gun and suicide attack after an election rally in Rawalpindi, the headquarters of Pakistan's army. Her party won elections two months later and her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, is president of Pakistan.

In 2010, a UN report said the murder could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to provide Bhutto with adequate protection.

Pakistani investigators accused him of being part of a "broad conspiracy" to have his political rival killed before elections.

But at the time, Musharraf's government blamed the assassination on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who denied any involvement and was killed in a US drone attack in August 2009.

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Summons pasted on Musharraf’s farm house

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/06/summo...arm-house.html

ISLAMABAD: Authorities on Tuesday posted a summons demanding that former military ruler Pervez Musharraf return from exile and appear before the country’s top court on March 22.

The notice was glued to the gate of Musharraf’s farm house on the outskirts of Islamabad after he failed to respond to repeated calls to appear over the December 27, 2007 murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf, who has lived in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai since stepping down in 2008, delayed plans to return home this year indefinitely after the government warned he would be arrested upon arrival.

“Yes, I can confirm that a notice has been pasted on the main gate of Musharraf’s farm house,” Sheikh Naeem, a senior police official, told AFP.

The notice asks Musharraf to appear in the Supreme Court on March 22 with documents proving his identity as a Pakistani citizen.

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‘Musharraf knew of Benazir’s assasination plot’

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/musha...tion-plot.html

3/22/2012

KARACHI: A report by the United Nations and a Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT), probing former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s murder, says former President Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf was aware of the Benazir assassination plot and personally ordered the destruction of evidence, Mark Siegel alleged in a New York Daily News article on Thursday.

Siegel was an adviser and friend of late Benazir Bhutto, and was also a collaborator on her book “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West,” which completed days before her murder.

Siegel claims he was with the former prime minister on September 25, 2007, when she had received a call from Musharraf “threatening her with dire consequences if she returned to Pakistan.”

“She was visibly shaken when she hung up the phone,” writes Siegel.

Soon after her arrival to Pakistan, and following the first failed assassination attempt on her life, Siegel claims she wrote an email to him saying “if anything happened to her, she would hold Musharraf responsible.”

The JIT report concludes that Musharraf, working with two police officers who reported back to him, knew of the plotting of the assassination, was aware of the timing and personally ordered the destruction of evidence, writes Siegel.

He adds: “Bhutto had believed that Musharraf was complicit in the attempt to take her life in Karachi by not providing her enough security. In fact, his involvement in the Karachi and Rawalpindi attacks was much more direct and insidious.”