Benazir assassination case: Musharraf, APML strike defiant tone on indictment
Party supporters to launch protests against former President’s indictment.
LAHORE:
The All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) will stage protests across the country on Friday (today) against the indictment of party leader and former President Pervez Musharraf in the trial investigating former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.
The announcement was made by Fawad Chaudhry, APML media adviser. The party will stage protests nationwide as well as in cities around the world such as London, New York and Toronto, where supporters will protest in front of Pakistani diplomatic missions in those cities.
Chaudhry said that, of the five investigations that have to date been conducted into the matter, all have concluded that Baitullah Mehsud, the former leader of the Pakistani Taliban, was responsible for the assassination of the former premier.
Musharraf, in an interview with a private television channel from London on Thursday, said that his indictment in the trial was an attempt to browbeat him for political purposes. He pointed out that Bhutto had been warned of threats to her life and that her own party members had taken responsibility for her safety.
“It is not the job of president to provide security to anyone,” added the former president.
The APML spokesman accused the judge presiding over the trial of bias, saying that the warrants for Musharraf’s arrest had been issued illegally. Chaudhry claimed that Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had yet to submit any questionnaire to the former president or contact him in any way.
The FIA, in turn, claims that it has made repeated attempts to contact Musharraf and only requested the warrant for his arrest after it failed to get any response from him.
With additional input from Online
Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th, 2011.
The All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) will stage protests across the country on Friday (today) against the indictment of party leader and former President Pervez Musharraf in the trial investigating former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.
The announcement was made by Fawad Chaudhry, APML media adviser. The party will stage protests nationwide as well as in cities around the world such as London, New York and Toronto, where supporters will protest in front of Pakistani diplomatic missions in those cities.
Chaudhry said that, of the five investigations that have to date been conducted into the matter, all have concluded that Baitullah Mehsud, the former leader of the Pakistani Taliban, was responsible for the assassination of the former premier.
Musharraf, in an interview with a private television channel from London on Thursday, said that his indictment in the trial was an attempt to browbeat him for political purposes. He pointed out that Bhutto had been warned of threats to her life and that her own party members had taken responsibility for her safety.
“It is not the job of president to provide security to anyone,” added the former president.
The APML spokesman accused the judge presiding over the trial of bias, saying that the warrants for Musharraf’s arrest had been issued illegally. Chaudhry claimed that Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had yet to submit any questionnaire to the former president or contact him in any way.
The FIA, in turn, claims that it has made repeated attempts to contact Musharraf and only requested the warrant for his arrest after it failed to get any response from him.
With additional input from Online
Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th, 2011.