'ATC verdict in Benazir murder case hasn't delivered justice'

APML spokesperson says the blame on Musharraf that he did not provide security to the former PM is baseless

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) decision in Benazir Bhutto murder case does not fulfill the requirements of justice, said Secretary General of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Dr Muhammad Amjad said on Thursday.

A special anti-terrorism court sentenced two senior police officers to 17 years in prison in the Benazir Bhutto murder case, nine years, eight months and three days after the assassination.

While five others accused were acquitted, former president Gen (retd) Pervaiz Musharraf was declared a proclaimed offender as he failed to appear before the court.

"The judgment is contrary to the challan of the case, the evidences and the statement," Amjad  said in a statement.

According to him, the effects of dread, fear or compromise seemed to be prevailing in the judgment.



Amjad went on to add that the actual planners of the murder were pushed away from the access of the court by acquitting the facilitators who had confessed their crime.

"Those who benefited from this murder are responsible of the murder, he remarked.

"Pervaiz Musharraf was the president of the country [at the time of the incident], Amjad said. "It is not likely that he would have issued orders to a district-level officer."

"The blame on Musharraf that he did not provide security to Benazir is baseless," he explained. "His name was not in the initial challan; Pakistan People's Party (PPP) included it in its regime to avoide embarrassment.

The fact that Musharraf has been declared an absconder shows that the judgment has been made in haste. APML will file an appeal in the high court against this judgment, Amjad said.

Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, had been assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack in Liaquat Bagh Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007. At least 23 Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) workers had also died in the incident.