BB murder case: Former CPO, SP granted bail

The Anti Terrorism Court on Tuesday granted bail to former City Police Officer (CPO) Saud Aziz and former Superintendent Police (SP) Rawal Town Khurram Shahzad in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

The officials, who were granted interim bail against surety bonds of Rs100,000 each, appeared before the court and submitted their applications. However Judge Rana Nisar Ahmed asked them to deposit the surety bonds, after which they were formally named in a charge sheet.

The court also ordered them to appear before the court on December 11, taking back the order of their bail-able arrest warrants which were issued on last date of hearing.


Earlier, special prosecutors Muhammad Azhar Chaudhary and Zulfiqar Ali Chaudhary argued before the court that the two police officials were equally responsible for the death of Benazir Bhutto since they failed to provide adequate security to the former prime minister.

The prosecutors were of the view that according to the reports of the Joint Investigative Team of the Federal Investigation Agency, the two officials were found to be responsible for a security lapse and destroying important evidence by hosing down the crime scene. They were booked under sections 119,109, and 201.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007 in a bomb blast in Rawalpindi soon after she addressed a public rally at Liaquat Bagh.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2010.