Musharraf indicted over murder of Bhutto
Print Edition
A PAKISTANI court yesterday indicted former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf on murder charges in connection with the 2007 assassination of iconic Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
This deepens the fall of a once-powerful figure who returned to the country this year to make a political comeback.
The decision by a court in Rawalpindi marks the first time Musharraf, or any former army chief in Pakistan, has been charged with a crime.
Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup and stepped down from office in disgrace nearly a decade later, now faces a litany of legal problems. He is under house arrest in connection with one of the cases against him.
The retired general was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and facilitation for murder, said prosecutor Chaudhry Muhammed Azhar.
He did not specify what Musharraf was accused of doing but prosecutors previously accused him of failing to provide enough protection to Bhutto.
Musharraf had previously been arrested on accusations he had a role in the assassination but yesterday’s proceedings mark the first time the government has formally charged him with a specific crime in Bhutto’s killing.
The former commando appeared in person during the brief morning hearing yesterday and pleaded not guilty, said Afshan Adil, a member of Musharraf’s legal team.
“These are all fabricated cases. There is nothing solid in all these case,” she said.
Bhutto was killed in 2007 during a gun and bomb attack at a rally in Rawalpindi.
The daughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was executed in 1977 after being deposed in a coup, she was respected in Pakistan for her political commitment — she was jailed multiple times — and her condemnation of militancy and support for Pakistan’s poor.
But her terms were marred by accusations of corruption against her and her husband.
She returned to Pakistan under a deal with Musharraf allowing her to take part in elections, and his supporters point to the deal as proof that he had no objections to her return.
Bhutto’s assassination set off a wave of protests across the country and helped propel her Pakistan People’s Party to office and her husband Asif Ali Zardari to the presidency.
A 2010 UN report on the circumstances surrounding her death was highly critical of steps taken by investigators and said Musharraf failed to make serious efforts to ensure Bhutto’s safety. His supporters dismissed the findings.
The judge set August 27 as the next court date at which evidence will be presented.
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