Zardari had Benazir murdered, says Musharraf

Ex-military ruler also accuses PPP co-chairman of being behind Murtaza Bhutto’s murder; PPP leaders hit out

KARACHI: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has accused PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari of being behind the assassination of his wife Benazir Bhutto and his brother-in-law Mir Murtaza Bhutto. The accusation comes just days after Zardari and the PPP accused Musharraf of masterminding the murder.

“The one responsible for all miseries of the Bhutto family as well as the assassination of Benazir and Murtaza Bhutto is none other than Zardari,” Musharraf said in a video message released on Thursday. “Zardari did nothing to investigate the murder of Murtaza Bhutto in his five years as president.”

Murtaza was shot dead in 1996 on his way home in Karachi. Benazir was prime minister at the time. In 2008, Zardari was acquitted in a case relating to that murder.

Benazir was killed in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007. On August 31, the ATC in Rawalpindi acquitted five alleged operatives of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the Benazir assassination case.



On record accusation

On Monday, Latif Khosa, acting on behalf of Zardari, filed three separate petitions in the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court challenging the verdict.

The first petition says Musharraf masterminded the conspiracy to kill Benazir. It claims that statement of American journalist Mark Siegel and former foreign ministry spokesperson Javed Iqbal Cheema, as well as the probes by Scotland Yard and the United Nations, provide ‘concrete evidence’ of Musharraf’s involvement.

It demands that the ATC’s decision to separate Musharraf’s case should be declared void and the trial court should conduct hearings in his absence and award him severe punishment under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

Who benefits

“Why would Zardari investigate Murtaza Bhutto’s murder when he himself carried out the assassination,” Musharraf asked in the video. “Who benefited from a murder?” he said. “Only one man benefited – the one who murdered him.”

He added that although Benazir was killed by [the then TTP chief] Baitullah Mehsud and his accomplices, “the ‘executor’ used Mehsud to carry out the murder”.

Musharraf also denied the accusation that he was not providing security to Benazir, saying it wasn’t his responsibility in the first place. He also called for investigating who killed Khalid Shehenshah, the person who was supposed to make security arrangements for Benazir.

“Zardari should be arrested and investigated,” he said while urging Bhutto’s children Bilawal, Bakhtawar, and Aseefa to understand the logic that his statement holds.

PPP not impressed

In response to the former dictator’s statement, the Bhutto-Zardari daughters were quick to fire back. Bakhtawar said on Twitter that, “Musharraf should quit [doing] talk shows and come talk in the courts of Pakistan,” while Aseefa accused Musharraf of “blaming the victim”, while also stating how she was “disgusted & appalled by media houses that are giving attention to this murderer, who ran away [to escape trial].”

Bilawal and Zardari had both not made any public statements till the time this report was filed.

Meanwhile, PPP Senator Aajiz Dhamrah issued a statement strongly condemning Musharraf, saying “the former dictator cannot mislead the nation by telling lies.”  He then moved on to counter-accuse Musharraf of having killed Murtaza Bhutto as well as Benazir.



Senator Dhamrah said Musharraf had threatened Benazir not to return to Pakistan before the general elections, adding that Musharraf did not provide security to her as she had challenged his illegal and unconstitutional rule.

Senator Sherry Rehman said if Musharraf knew about the Bhutto siblings’ murderers, why was he quiet until now. “Why didn’t Musharraf speak earlier when the UN Commission came? Musharraf was in power for 10 years in Pakistan so why did he not do anything for Murtaza Bhutto’s case? He is worried now that questions will be asked about his role in her murder,” she said.

She added that if Zardari wanted to run away from the Bhutto cases, he would not have filed three appeals. “Whatever Musharraf has to say, he should say it in Pakistan,” she said.