Benazir assassination case : Arrangements made to record Siegel’s testimony, court told

Former PM’s confidant will record statement from US on October 1 at 7:30pm

RAWALPINDI: The district administration on Monday informed the special anti-terrorism court (ATC) hearing the Benazir Bhutto murder case that it has finalised all arrangements to record testimony of key witness US author Mark Siegel.

ATC Judge Ayub Khan Marth was informed that arrangements had been finalised to record the testimony of Siegel through a video link from New York on October 1.

The statement will be recorded at 7:30pm at the commissioner’s office Thursday.

Siegel was supposed to record his statement on August 27. However, his health condition did not allow it, and recording of the statement was deferred till October 1.

Investigators had included Siegel’s name in the list of prosecution witnesses to use his testimony against former president Pervez Musharraf, the prime suspect in the case. Siegel was a close friend of the slain chief of the Pakistan Peoples Party.



Federal Investigation Agency Special Prosecutor Chaudhry Muhammad Azhar told The Express Tribune that the Interior Ministry had already presented a letter in which Siegel expressed willingness to record his statement.

“Following his willingness, the administration has finalised all the arrangements,” the prosecutor said.

Meanwhile, the prosecution witness, Inspector Kashif Riaz, who was the then SHO of City Police Station, also recorded his statement.

In his statement, he said that he lodged the murder case of the former prime minister and collected some 19 pieces of evidence from the crime scene at Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007.

The evidence included a pistol, bullet shells, body parts, blood samples, explosives from Bhutto’s vehicle and other material.

The inspector said he had prepared the initial investigation report, adding that later the investigation was assigned to a joint investigation team formed by the government on December 30, 2007.

The court then made Riaz’ statement a part of the case.

However, defence lawyer Malik Muhammad Rafique sought time from the court for cross-examination because of his health condition.

The court adjourned the matter till October 1.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2015.