BB's assassination still a mystery

While some suspects have been acquitted or released, others languish in prison

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RAWALPINDI:

The assassination of former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto (BB) is still an unresolved mystery for investigators, who have been unable to trace the masterminds, perpetrators and killers in the high-profile case, despite 17 years of the incident.

High-profile global bodies like the United Nations, the United Kingdom's Scotland Yard, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Punjab Police conducted four thorough probes but failed to trace the case.

Benazir Bhutto lost her life in a shooting cum suicide attack when she was returning from an election rally at Rawalpindi's Liaquat on December 27, 2007. PPP's 27 activists were also killed and 98 others were injured.

The case was heard in the special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi for about seven years. Now, it has been crawling like an ant in the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench for the last seven years.

In 2024, the case was heard once in the LHC, but the hearing was adjourned for an indefinite period owing to the absence of lawyers. This remains the oldest murder appeal in the LHC. A total of seven challans were submitted, 12 judges were changed, 291 appearances were made and 57 witnesses were presented in the case.

During the hearing of the case, PPP presented American journalist Mark Segal as a witness through a video link statement from the Pakistan High Commission in the UK.

The Rawalpindi police arrested five accused Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Hasnain, Rafaqat and Abdul Rasheed in the case. Following the FIA's investigation, the then President General Pervez Musharraf, the then Rawalpindi City Police Officer Saud Aziz and SP Khurram Shehzad were also nominated in the case, making the total number of accused to eight.

The then ATC judge, Muhammad Asghar Khan, acquitted four arrested five suspects, sentenced two police officers to 17 years in prison and awarded a fine of Rs1 million each.

Musharraf, who left for Dubai during the investigation, later passed away. The court declared him an absconder and confiscated all his movable and immovable properties and bank accounts. Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman and Hasnain were released, Abdul Rasheed is still detained in Adiala Jail, and Rafaqat, who was abducted after his release, has been missing for the past seven years.

The PPP neither pursued the most important case itself nor allowed the victims' families to follow it.

Judges kept issuing notices and summons to BB's spouse Asif Ali Zardari and children Bilawal Bhutto, Asifa Bhutto and Bakhtawar Bhutto to follow the case, but no one appeared in the court.

The FIA continued to follow the case on its own. Senior FIA prosecutor Chaudhary Zulfikar Ali was also brutally murdered during the hearing. Both the convicted police officers in the case are on bail. The LHC suspended the sentences of both.

After the court's decision, President Zardari filed appeals for the trial of Musharraf in absentia and for the punishment of the five accused. The police officers filed appeals against the convictions. FIA also filed appeals to quash acquittals of the accused and for Musharraf's trial. The PPP again didn't file any appeal against the police officers.

Sources at the LHC Rawalpindi Bench say the appeals of this important case are expected to be scheduled for hearing in February next year.

PPP lawyer Malik Zaheer Arshad says if this case is not decided immediately after the winter vacation, they will apply for an early hearing to bring the accused to book.

However, lawyers Naseer Tanoli and Malik Jawad Khalid, who represent the accused, are of the opinion that there is no PPP appeal against the accused police officers for lack of evidence, therefore there is a strong possibility that their sentences will be annulled. Musharraf's name will also be deleted from the appeals on any future date, they add.

According to lawyers, with the appointment of new additional judges in the LHC, this case will also be disposed of in the first six months of 2025.