Establishment's 'rogue elements' may have been involved in Benazir's murder: Musharraf

Former president says 'society is polarised on religious lines'

Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has maintained that rogue elements within Pakistan's establishment may have been involved in former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination.

Speaking to BBC News, Musharraf said such elements could have had a bearing on her death as "the society is polarised on religious lines".

"I don't have any facts available. But my assessment is very accurate I think... A lady who is in known to be inclined towards the West is seen suspiciously by those elements," he added.

Musharraf has himself been charged with murder, criminal conspiracy for murder and facilitation for murder in relation to the Benazir assassination case. Prosecutors say that he phoned Benazir in Washington on September 25 2007, three weeks before she ended eight years in self-imposed exile.



Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, Benazir's son, told a British media outlet that he considered former Musharraf the murderer of his mother.

Bilawal claimed that crucial details about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto were bring held back in order to protect the former general.

“Pervez Musharraf directly threatened my mother that the guarantee of her security upon her return to Pakistan depended on Bhutto’s cooperation with the government,” Bilawal noted.

The PPP chairman further said that he did not want to hurl allegations at certain individuals or institutions because his party did not have specific information as to who Musharraf called or contacted to get rid of Benazir Bhutto.

“The PPP does not regard the young man who killed Benazir in a bomb and gun attack on her vehicle in 2007 as her murderer.  In reality, Pervez Musharraf killed my mother by taking advantage of the situation,” Bilawal maintained.