Justice for BB: Six years and counting

Since 2008, five ATC judges have been changed, and one judge has retired.

RAWALPINDI:

Six years have passed, six judges have changed, but the murder case of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto still lies pending with the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) since 2008, as the country observes her death anniversary on Friday (today).

The first female premier of the Muslim world was assassinated on December 27, 2007, in a gun-and-bomb attack at the end of her party’s rally in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, Six years have passed by, but the case is yet to reach conclusion. Since 2008, five ATC judges have been changed, and one judge – Chaudhry Habibur Rehman – has retired on December 24.

Chaudhry Azhar, special prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), is pursuing the case since May after the murder of Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ahmed, who remained the special prosecutor for five years.

Talking to The Express Tribune FIA Special Prosecutor Azhar said a total of 26 witnesses out of the total 52 have got their statement recorded. He said that during the year 2013, 45 hearings of the case have taken place.



He held former president Pervez Musharraf responsible for delaying the case, saying that after his arrival the trial was restarted.

The court started the trial de novo because Musharraf was also an accused in this case. On August 19, ATC indicted him on three charges: criminally conspiring, abetting and murdering Bhutto.

Azhar said that the last hearing took place on December 14 and court had summoned the witness on January 4, 2014.

So far, eight accused have been charged in the case. These include former president Pervez Musharraf, former DIG Saud Aziz and former SP Khurram Shehzad. The court has also charged a minor, Aitzaz Shah.

In August, Pakistan Peoples Party had formally become a complainant in this case. However, PPP had failed to pursue the case in its ruling tenure. The former information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira believes that the PPP government did the best in its tenure. Kaira claimed that all the accused were arrested and charge-sheeted during PPP’s tenure.

“Nawaz Sharif had promised to expedite the process and he should fulfil his promise,’’ he added.

Dissident PPP stalwart Naheed Khan who has also been the former political secretary of the slain leader termed it a dilemma that even after six years the case remains undecided.

“It was a high-profile murder case which should have been given top priority,” she remarked.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2013.