Include ministers in investigations: Mazari

KARACHI: All ministers mentioned in the UN Commission’s report on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination should be investigated to identify the real culprits, veteran politician Sardar Sherbaz Khan Mazari said on Friday.

“When she (Ms Bhutto) returned to the country in October 2007, she came to visit me and informed me about threats to her life. She also named ministers, also mentioned in the report, who could possibly harm her,” Sardar Mazari told journalists after attending a seminar in Karachi. He said that if these federal ministers stepped down now, it would serve no purpose. But the government should include them in the investigation. He did not name the ministers.

However, the UN report mentions the names of Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Law Minister Babar Awan. According to Mazari, the deal brokered by the US and the UK between Benazir Bhutto and former president Pervez Musharraf could also be the cause of her assassination. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Nazar Muhammad Gondal said that the PPP-led government has decided to form an all-powerful team to investigate the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

The minister said that whoever was involved in the assassination of Benazir, including former President Pervez Musharraf, would be brought to justice. He said the committee would investigate all the facts and take strict action against the culprits.

— ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM ONLINE