BB murder case: Musharraf challenges Siegel’s statement

Defence counsel says US-based witness should appear in person

RAWALPINDI: Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday challenged the statement via video link of witness Mark Siegel in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

The special court admitted the petition for hearing, issuing a notice to the state prosecutor asking for his reply, and adjourned the hearing till November 11.

Siegel, a US-based author and close friend of the late chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, is a key prosecution witness in the case and recorded his statement last month, which accused Musharraf of making a threatening call to Bhutto while she was in the US.

Musharraf’s new counsel in the case, Farogh Nasim, requested the special anti-terrorism court headed by Judge Rai Ayub Khan Marth to summon Siegel to record his statement in person, and termed his earlier statement a pack of lies.

Nasim also argued that the statement has been recorded via video link after a lapse of seven years, which is contrary to legal guidelines. His statement should be recorded in Pakistan, he pleaded, adding that if the witness was facing life threats, he should be provided security by the state. The statement submitted by the defence stated that Siegel’s testimony be declared null and void as it was recorded via inadmissible means.

Prosecution witnesses SSP Tahir Ayub and Inspector Tahir Ilyas were both present in court, after repeated summons and warrants, but could not record their statements as proceedings were cancelled.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2015.