Pervez Musharraf: Former Pakistan President. KOMPAS.com
Pakistan
Interior Minister Rehman Malik informed members of the Sindh Assembly on
Tuesday that soon former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf
would be brought back to the country to face trial in the Benazir Bhutto
assassination case, following issuance of red warrants by the trial court to
Interpol.
He also said that former
Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, whenever he returned to Pakistan,
would be questioned about his remarks reported in a section of the press on the
eve of arrival of Benazir Bhutto on Oct 18, 2007, from her exile. Dr Rahim had
reportedly said that “during the day they will beat drums, but after sunset
they will cry when lights will be switched off”.
The interior minister, in
compliance with a resolution of the Sindh Assembly asking him to make public
the findings of investigation into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, in his
three-hour briefing narrated details of the former premier’s assassination. He
also explained delays in the completion of the inquiries.
There were no lapses on the
part of the government as forensic investigation took time, Malik said,
and provided details and identified persons involved in the assassination,
including planners, supporters, financers, associates and implementers who had
been arrested and would be tried.
Probing questions were
asked by some lawmakers, including Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Ghulam Mujadid Isran,
Rafique Engineer, Agha Siraj Durrani, Sassui Palejo, Marvi Rashdi and Nusrat
Seher Abbasi.
Briefing the legislators
with the help of video clips, chief of the Joint Investigation Team Khalid
Qureshi and Inspector General of the Islamabad Police Bin Yamin said Benazir
Bhutto’s assassination plan was prepared by Al Qaeda leader Abu Obaid Al-Misri
and was executed by Baitullah Mehsud through the Haqqani network, and 400,000
rupees (US$5,000) was provided for it. The suicide blast was carried out by
Saeed alias Bilal.
Before her murder,
five attempts had been made on the life of Benazir Bhutto, including one by
Ramzi Yusuf in 1993 before the general election.
He said 16 persons were
behind the gun attack and bomb blast of December 27. The conspiracy was hatched
in the room of Anwar Shah in the hostel of the Akora Khattak Madressah. After
addressing a public meeting, as she was driven out of the venue, a crowd
gathered on the road and when she raised her head through the roof of the car
to respond to the slogans of the crowd, Saeed alias Bilal fired three gunshots
at her before blowing himself up. She was rushed to hospital, where she died.
Malik said suspect Aitzaz
Shah was arrested the next day by tracing his phone calls. He said the focal
person of the conspiracy, Nasrullah, was killed. Abdullah alias Saddam, Nadir
alias Qari Ismail and others were killed in drone attacks. Arrested Aitzaz
Shah, Rafaqat, Rashid Ahmad alias Abdul Rahim Turabi and Sherzaman had recorded
confessional statements before a magistrate.
He said so far 16 persons
had been nominated in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto case. Five of them
were arrested, six killed, and three were still at large.
The interior minister said
the relevant police official who did not have a post-mortem carried out was
arrested as the absence of an autopsy was a major lacuna in the investigations.
In reply to a question, he said the crime of Gen Musharraf
in the case was his failure to provide necessary security to the two-time
elected prime minister despite knowing that Benazir Bhutto was under threat
from terrorists.
He said a number of notices
had been served on Gen Musharraf
through the high commission in London and now
the court would issue red warrants to Interpol to seek his deportation and
return to Pakistan.
In reply to another
question, the interior minister said Bhutto was informed by President Karzai, a
representative of another Muslim country and then US secretary of state Condoleezza
Rice that her life was under threat, but none of them was willing to record their
statements in the case.
He said there was no role
of Benazir Bhutto in the National Reconciliation Order, nor had she approved
its draft as she was in favour of setting up of a truth commission. After her
meeting with Gen Musharraf
in Dubai, she
had told him that Gen Musharraf
was not going to honour his commitment.
In reply to another
question, the interior minister said if the reports of Gen Asad Durrani and the
diary of Younus Habib were opened, one could have an idea as to who were
involved in the conspiracy.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed
Qaim Ali Shah, who also attended the briefing, recalled eyewitness accounts of
the Karsaz tragedy of Oct 18, 2007 and said that despite their best efforts,
including court orders, an First Information Report (FIR) of the Karsaz
twin bomb blasts was not registered by the Bahadurabad police station, its
officials saying that an FIR had been registered on the complaint of a police
inspector. Benazir Bhutto had escaped in the Karsaz blasts, but 170 party
workers and sympathisers were killed.
He said the FIR was
registered without consulting Pakistan Peoples
Party workers who were on board the truck that carried the former prime
minister.
Shah also said that on the
eve of arrival of Bhutto, when letters were written for making security
arrangements, the then home secretary had committed that he would make all
security arrangement, saying that it was the responsibility of the government.
But she was provided no security.
Speaker Nisar Ahmad Khuhro,
conducting the meeting from his seat in the assembly hall, the place of the
briefing, after the session was prorogued, tried to calm the members who wanted
to ask questions. He said whatever material had been collected so far by the
investigation team of the interior department had been laid before them in
which the names of the people killed were mentioned. He remarked the meeting
was not a court of law to decide the case.
Later, after a meeting with
Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Rehman Malik said necessary investigations had been carried
out in the assassination of Bhutto and all elements involved in the conspiracy
had been unmasked.
He said it was a demand of
party workers, elected representatives and the public that the inquiry report
be made public, and the government had fulfilled its commitment.
Malik said Chief Minister
Syed Qaim Ali Shah had constituted a committee which would investigate the
incident of the Oct 18, 2007, and the committee would submit its report within
four weeks.
