Benazir murder case: JIT, FIA challenge judicial remand of police suspects

Investigators seek recovery of cell phone used by the accused on the day of the assassination.

ISLAMABAD: The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday challenged the judicial remand of the former City Police Officer (CPO) Saud Aziz and Superintendent of Police (SP) Khurram Shahzad, earlier ordered by the Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

The investigators wanted the physical remand of the suspects as they sought the recovery of the cell phone used by them on December 27, 2007 and certain other property.

Public prosecutor Chaudhary Zulfiqar filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench challenging the decision of ATC Judge Rana Nisar given on December 29, in which he had sent the two police officials to jail on judicial remand, denying investigators the physical remand of the suspects.

A division bench of the LHC Rawalpindi, comprising Justice Khawaja Imtiaz and Justice Hassan Raza Pasha will take up this petition on January 10.

The public prosecutor maintained in his petition that physical remand of both police officials is important for the recovery of the cell phone which was used by the police officials when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.

The public prosecutor argued that the JIT was investigating both police officials when they were sent to jail by the ATC, leaving the investigation incomplete.

He further maintained that after obtaining further physical remand, the JIT could reach a conclusion. He requested the court to declare ATC’s decision null and void and order them to an extended physical remand.

The prosecutor also submitted in the application that the JIT wanted to investigate further through forensic tests of the cell phones which were used by the police who had been in contact with the two officers on the day of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

Earlier on December 29, the ATC rejected the FIA’s request for extending the physical remand of both police officials and sent them to jail on judicial remand for two weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2011.