Editorial

Indicted for Benazir’s murder

As head of state at the time of the murder, Musharraf may be able to shed light on some matters.

Editorial August 20, 2013

The findings that emerge during the ongoing trial of Musharraf may lead to more details coming to light. As head of state at the time of the murder, Musharraf may be able to shed light on some matters. PHOTO: FILE

In a development many would not have thought possible in a country that has been ruled by the military for most of its 66-year history, former president and army chief General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was indicted by a Rawalpindi court in the Benazir Bhutto murder case on three charges of murder, conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder. Musharraf was expected to be indicted on August 6, but could not appear in the court due to security concerns. A lawyer from his defence team has said that Musharraf denied all the charges, as he had done in past years. The ex-military ruler has not made any public remarks on the matter since court hearings began.

The case is one that will be followed with great interest. The December 2007 murder of Benazir Bhutto, killed as a result of a bomb and bullet attack after a public rally at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi, remains unsolved. It is also a killing of huge significance as far as political events in the country go. Getting to the bottom of what happened is, therefore, significant in more ways than one. Doubts hang over the investigations conducted so far, including those carried out under the PPP government. The killing of the FIA prosecutor leading the investigation in the case in May this year only adds to the mystery and the various conspiracy theories that float five and a half years after Bhutto was assassinated.

The findings that emerge during the ongoing trial of Musharraf may lead to more details coming to light. As head of state at the time of the murder, Musharraf may be able to shed light on some matters. The next date of hearing has been set for August 27 and no doubt, security will be as tight as it was during this hearing, with the police lining all routes. But what is perhaps, for now at least, most significant about the case is the demonstration that the rule of law is equal for all. We must now hope the law will be able to take its course with a fair trial conducted, so that justice can be done.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2013.

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