Pakistani prosecutor in Bhutto case killed
Source: Agencies |
May 4, 2013, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
GUNMEN yesterday killed a Pakistani prosecutor who was leading investigations into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and a brutal attack on civilians in the Indian city of Mumbai.
The assassination in the capital Islamabad comes at a sensitive time in Pakistan as the country prepares for nationwide elections on May 11 amid a spate of Taliban attacks on candidates.
In the southern city of Karachi, gunmen on motorcycles killed an anti-Taliban election candidate and his son, and a political activist in two other attacks yesterday.
The government prosecutor who was gunned down, Chaudhry Zulfikar Ali, was at the helm of a number of highly controversial cases. The two most prominent included Bhutto's death in 2007 and the 2008 Mumbai attack by Pakistan-based militants that killed 166 people.
The Bhutto case has received renewed attention in recent weeks because of the return of former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf from self-imposed exile. Musharraf, who was in power when she was killed, has been arrested in connection with the case.
Ali was on his way to a court in Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, when gunmen fired at him, hitting him in the head, shoulder and chest, and then fled in a taxi and on a motorcycle.
The prosecutor was shot at least 13 times, and his car was pockmarked with bullets and the windshield shattered.
He then lost control of his car, which hit a woman passer-by and killed her.
Ali's guard returned fire and is believed to have wounded at least one of the attackers, police said. The guard also was injured in the attack. Police have launched a search to find and apprehend the gunmen.
Government prosecutors have accused Musharraf of being involved in the Bhutto assassination and not providing enough security to Pakistan's first female prime minister. Musharraf has denied the allegations but is currently under house arrest on the outskirts of Islamabad in connection with the case. Musharraf blamed the Pakistani Taliban at the time of the attack. Initially the militants denied responsibility, but they eventually said they did it several years later.
The prosecutor told reporters that he had received death threats recently in connection with the case but would not say who from or what they said. He was headed to a hearing related to Musharraf and the Bhutto case at a court in Rawalpindi when he was killed.
The assassination in the capital Islamabad comes at a sensitive time in Pakistan as the country prepares for nationwide elections on May 11 amid a spate of Taliban attacks on candidates.
In the southern city of Karachi, gunmen on motorcycles killed an anti-Taliban election candidate and his son, and a political activist in two other attacks yesterday.
The government prosecutor who was gunned down, Chaudhry Zulfikar Ali, was at the helm of a number of highly controversial cases. The two most prominent included Bhutto's death in 2007 and the 2008 Mumbai attack by Pakistan-based militants that killed 166 people.
The Bhutto case has received renewed attention in recent weeks because of the return of former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf from self-imposed exile. Musharraf, who was in power when she was killed, has been arrested in connection with the case.
Ali was on his way to a court in Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, when gunmen fired at him, hitting him in the head, shoulder and chest, and then fled in a taxi and on a motorcycle.
The prosecutor was shot at least 13 times, and his car was pockmarked with bullets and the windshield shattered.
He then lost control of his car, which hit a woman passer-by and killed her.
Ali's guard returned fire and is believed to have wounded at least one of the attackers, police said. The guard also was injured in the attack. Police have launched a search to find and apprehend the gunmen.
Government prosecutors have accused Musharraf of being involved in the Bhutto assassination and not providing enough security to Pakistan's first female prime minister. Musharraf has denied the allegations but is currently under house arrest on the outskirts of Islamabad in connection with the case. Musharraf blamed the Pakistani Taliban at the time of the attack. Initially the militants denied responsibility, but they eventually said they did it several years later.
The prosecutor told reporters that he had received death threats recently in connection with the case but would not say who from or what they said. He was headed to a hearing related to Musharraf and the Bhutto case at a court in Rawalpindi when he was killed.
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