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India-Pakistan

Nafeesa Shah voices concern over release of TTP men allegedly involved in Benazir murder case

2018-05-09

[DAWN] The central information secretary of Pakistain Peoples Party, MNA Dr Nafeesa Shah, on Tuesday expressed concern over the release of five suspected Tehrik-e-Taliban ...Arabic for students... Pakistain (TTP) members that were jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! for allegedly conspiring to assassinate PPP chairperson and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... in 2007. "Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , who is also involved in Benazir Bhutto's murder, was allowed to travel abroad. Now he is avoiding coming to Pakistain to appear before the court," Dr Shah regretted. She expressed sorrow over the fact that the coppers who were found linked to the murder and handed court sentences were not only released on bail but reinstated into the force on their respective positions. "Benazir Bhutto was a twice-elected prime minister. The release of those involved in her murder is tantamount to denial of justice," Dr Shah exclaimed. The PPP leader warned about the consequences and said that such acts would encourage "the elements that constantly challenge the writ of the government and they will continue carrying out acts of terrorism". Dr Shah said the release of the alleged murderers of an elected leader raises many important questions. "It is on record that the government-appointed prosecutor in the murder case was killed in broad daylight," she said referring to the brutal killing of Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali on May 3, 2013. Zulfiqar was shot multiple times by button men in Islamabad’s G-9 area as he was driving to attend the hearing in the murder case of the former prime minister. On Monday, the two-member LHC bench accepted the plea of the father of Aitzaz Shah, one of the five suspects, who said he had nothing left to pay the fee of his lawyers. The court ordered their release on submission of surety bonds worth Rs500,000 by each suspect.

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India-Pakistan

FIA seeks capital punishment in Benazir case, says ATC passed verdict 'in a hurry'

2017-09-30

[DAWN] The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Friday challenged the verdict of an anti-terrorism court in the Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... murder case, arguing that the two guilty coppers as well as the five men acquitted of all charges deserve capital punishment. Last month, ATC had announced the verdict in the murder case, acquitting five Tehrik-e-Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... Pakistain (TTP) suspects ‐ Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Rashid Ahmed and Aitzaz Shah ‐ and announcing 17-year imprisonment for two former police officials. The court had also declared retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... an absconder in the case. The FIA moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the sentence through two separate petitions submitted on Friday. The first one argues that the two convicted culprits were not punished under the terrorism charges which were part of the case. The counsel for the agency also said that the ATC passed the verdict in a hurry without fulfilling legal requirements. According to the petition, filed in the Rawalpindi registry of the LHC, the two coppers ‐ former City Police Officer Saood Aziz and former Superintendent Police Khurrum Shahzad ‐ were sentenced under only two clauses each, whereas several other clauses, including terrorism, were also part of the case.

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India-Pakistan

ATC reserves verdict on Benazir Bhutto murder case

2017-08-31

[DAWN] An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi reserved its decision on the decade-old Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... murder case on Wednesday after the defence counsel concluded their arguments. It is expected that the judgement will be announced at Rawalpindi's Adiala jail this week, as Judge Muhammad Asghar Ali Khan earlier said he would require two days to scrutinise and compile all the records. In today's hearing, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor, Chaudhry Azhar, said that former president retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... ─ declared "most wanted" in the case ─ could not appear before the court because he is under threat by the Al Qaeda. Naseer Tanoli, the lawyer of Aitzaz Shah who is accused of helping and financing the attack, told the court that the FIA's investigation into the case is full of defects. Tanoli observed that the FIA had not asked any of the suspects about when they were locked away Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! . The FIA prosecutor argued that if there were discrepancies regarding the dates of the arrests of the suspects, the fault lies with the police, not the FIA.

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India-Pakistan

Benazir murder suspect seeks contact with family

2015-09-30

[DAWN] An accused in the Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... murder case on Monday sought court's permission to contact his family on telephone. Aitzaz Shah has been behind bars in Rawalpindi Central Jail since 2008. Naseer Khan Tanoli, counsel for the accused, submitted the application before a judge in which he pleaded to the court that his client be allowed to contact his family via jail telephones. The counsel said using the phone was the detainee's legal right and that other inmates at the same jail were allowed to talk over the phone for 20 minutes a month. The judge has issued a notice to the jail administration, seeking their comments. The Anti-terrorism Court also heard and recorded statements from a witness, Inspector Kashif Riaz, who was posted as station house officer (SHO) at the city cop shoppe in 2007 when Ms Bhutto was assassinated within the limits of the same cop shoppe. Rawalpindi administration also submitted a report before the court that arrangements have been made to record statements from an important witness to the case, US lobbyist Mark Seigel. Mr Seigel's account will be recorded via a video link from New York. The court decided to record Mr Seigel's statement on October 1 at 7:30pm through a video link facility from the commissioner's office.

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India-Pakistan

Ex-ISI official refuses to testify in Benazir case

2015-06-03

[DAWN] RAWALPINDI: Former official of the Inter-Services Intelligence ...the Pak military intelligence agency that controls the military -- heads of ISI typically get promoted into the Chief of Army Staff position. It serves as a general command center for favored turban groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, tries to influence the politix of neighboring countries, and carries out a (usually) low-level war against India in Kashmir... (ISI), a key witness in the case, on Monday refused to testify against the suspects of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) being tried in Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... murder case. Ex-telephone operator of the ISI excused himself from testifying before the court ,saying his life is in danger as he lives in Karak district which is close to tribal areas. Consequently, the anti-terrorism court (ATC) discarded his earlier statement which he recorded before the team investigating Benazir murder case. The former official had confirmed to the investigating team that he intercepted the communication between the suspects and TTP terrorists. Five suspects Aitzaz Shah, Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman and Abdul Rashid are facing trial in the case. Besides, former president retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , former CPO Rawalpindi Saud Aziz and former SP Khurram Shahzad were also accused in the case. Besides, refusal of former operator of ISI, another witness, Mark Seigel, could not testify before the court. The prosecution had informed the court that Seigel could record his statement through video link. The FIA prosecutor told the court that interior secretary was in contact with the Foreign Office and the officials of the Pakistain embassy in the US to contact Mr Seigal and arrange video link facility for him in the embassy.

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India-Pakistan

Prosecution witness forgets basics of BB murder case

2014-09-25

[NATION.PK] An anti-terrorism court (ATC) here on Saturday rejected the right of audience of a prosecution witness who forgot the basic details of Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... (BB) murder case during cross-examination. The court also refused to allow Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) special public prosecutor to grill the prosecution witness. However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... the court accepted the plea of public prosecutor for conducting the trial of BB liquidation case through video link and set September 27 for arguments on the said plea. Moreover, statement of another prosecution witness Inspector Ijaz Hussain Shah, now serving as SHO Police Station New Town, Rawalpindi, was not recorded by the court. According to details, ATC Special Judge Pevaiz Ismail Joya took up BB liquidation case at Adyala Jail in which a prosecution witness, Inspector Chaudhry Muhammad Ilyas, now posted as SHO cop shoppe Kahuta, appeared before the court for recording his statement. Defence lawyer Malik Jawad Khalid, who is representing an accused Hasnain Gull, questioned Inspector Ilyas, who had earlier submitted his statement that he had recovered diaries, mobile phone and SIM from the possession of Hasnain Gull during body search, for which case he (inspector) turned up before court to record his statement. The inspector replied he arrived here to record his statement in the case number 76 registered with PS Westridge in 2008. On this, the defence lawyer raised objection that the witness had no knowledge about the basic information of the BB murder case; therefore, he could not record his statement. The judge accepted the objection and rejected the right of audience of the witness. FIA Special Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar pleaded court for cross-examining the aforementioned witness but the judge turned down his request. The prosecution did not present Inspector Ijaz Hussain Shah for recording his statement and sought more time for the purpose, which was awarded by the court. Later, the public prosecutor filed a petition with the court, seeking video link trial of the case which was accepted by the court setting September 27, 2014 for arguments of the application. During the hearing of BB murder case in Adyala Jail, former City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Saud Aziz, former SP Rawal Division Khurram Shehzad, and other five accused Hasnain Gull, Rafaqat Shah, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rasheed were also present.

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India-Pakistan

Two witnesses testify in Benazir murder case

2014-07-14

[DAWN] Two prosecution witnesses in Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... murder case testified before an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Magistrates Ahmed Masood Janjua and Taufiq Chaudhry testified that they had recorded the confessional statements of Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid for their alleged involvement in the murder case. Magistrate Janjua informed the court that he had recorded the statement of Abdul Rashid who confessed to knowing and participating in the conspiracy to kill Ms Bhutto. Magistrate Chaudhry added that in their confessional statements Hussain and Gul had confessed to abetting suicide kaboomer Bilal who went kaboom! near the vehicle of Ms Bhutto. In the confessional statement, both the accused stated that they kept Bilal in a house near Liaquat Bagh where Ms Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007. Regarding the confessional statement of Aitzaz Shah, magistrate Chaudhry said the accused had admitted his involvement in the conspiracy to murder Ms Bhutto. Shah, according to the statement, was ready for the suicide attack on Ms Bhutto but at the eleventh hour he was told that Bilal had been tasked with attacking the PPP leader. So far, 19 prosecution witnesses have been examined in the case. The court adjourned further proceedings till July 19 when four more prosecution witnesses will testify.

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India-Pakistan

Benazir killed for backing Lal Masjid operation

2012-02-13

ISLAMABAD — Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed because she supported the Lal Masjid operation, an anti-terrorism court was told in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Magistrate Taufiq Ahmed, who had recorded confessional statements of accused Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul and Aitzaz Shah on February 13, 2008, said they told him that they wanted to kill only Benazir and because of the deaths of 23 other people in the attack, which they regretted, they would accept any punishment awarded to them. During the hearing of the Benazir assassination case in Adiala Jail, the magistrate read out the confessional statements before ATC Judge Shahid Rafique. According to the statements, the accused received Rs360,000 from Baitullah Mehsood while his associates, Abdullah alias Saddam and Qari Ismail, provided them two suicide bombers Saeed alias Bilal and Ikramullah. They purchased a pistol to be used by the suicide attacker because the plan was to kill Benazir near the stage during her rally in Liaqat Bagh on December 27, 2007. The accused, along with the suicide bomber, visited the venue on the night before the rally and took him to their residence in Quaid-i-Azam Colony in Rawalpindi. The accused brought the bomber to the venue early in the morning only to learn that because of tight security arrangements, it was difficult to get inside and near the stage. Then they deployed the bomber in front of the gate of Liaqat Bagh and another attacker Ikramullah at another exit point. After carrying out the crime, the accused reassembled near Fawara Chowk, Raja Bazar, and later went to their residence.

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India-Pakistan

Authenticity of evidence in BB case contested

2012-01-30

[Dawn] Hearing in the Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... liquidation case took an uncanny twist on Saturday when the defence counsel pointed out that the call data of the Zong cellular company provided by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was not admissible as evidence because the firm launched its business in Pakistain in 2008, whereas the tragedy occurred in 2007. Naseer Tanoli, counsel for accused Rafaqat Hussain and Husnain Gul, during a cross-examination of prosecution witness Ahmed Faisal, a manager at Zong, told anti-terrorism court judge Shahid Rafique in Adiala jail that the call data of his clients and Nasrullah, an aide to the late Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistain leader Baitullah Mehsud, could not be linked with the liquidation because the cellular company did not exist in the country when the incident occurred on Dec 27, 2007. The FIA produced three more witnesses for cross-examination. Chaudhry Mohmmad Taufique, a judicial magistrate, who recorded confessional statements of the accused, told the court that Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul and Aitzaz Shah had confessed to their crime and signed their statements with their thumb impressions. The defence counsel did not cross-examine magistrate Taufique and the court, while giving them final opportunity for cross-examining, adjourned the hearing to Feb 4.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistan court indicts seven over Bhutto killing

2011-11-06

[Daily Nation (Kenya)] A Pak anti-terror court Saturday indicted two coppers and five alleged Talibs over the 2007 liquidation of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a prosecutor said. Nobody has been convicted or tossed in the slammer for Bhutto's liquidation on December 27, 2007, in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital Islamabad, in a gun and suicide kaboom after she addressed an election rally. The death of the charismatic, Oxford-educated Bhutto, the first woman to become prime minister of a Moslem nation, threw the country into chaos, sparking violence and months of political turmoil. Police say that three other suspects in the high-profile case have been killed -- including the chief of the Pak Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud -- and two remain on the lam. "Seven accused including two coppers have been indicted," public prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar told AFP. The police were incarcerated a year ago while the suspected cut-throats have been in jug for nearly four years. The coppers were Saud Aziz, who was the Rawalpindi police chief at the time of the killing, and Khurram Shahzad, another senior policeman. The five suspected cut-throats are Sher Zaman, Hasnain Gul, Rafaqat Hussain, Abdul Rasheed and Aitzaz Shah from the troubled northwest of the country, Azhar said. All seven accused were indicted at the court in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi. The five alleged cut-throats are accused of "criminal conspiracy" for bringing the jacket wallah from the tribal belt in the northwest and keeping him at a house in Rawalpindi. "(All) the accused denied the charges and demanded for trial," Azhar said, adding that the coppers were accused of a security breach and for their "failure" to protect Bhutto. "One of the accused, Sher Zaman refused to sign the charge sheet," the prosecutor said. At the time of Bhutto's death, then president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... blamed Mehsud for the killing. Musharraf, who lives in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai, is also wanted over Bhutto's death. Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant in February over what they said was his failure to provide her with enough security. The former president and military ruler is alleged to have been part of a "broad conspiracy" to have his political rival killed before elections. He denies the allegation. The anti-terror court in August ordered the confiscation of Musharraf's property and the freezing of his bank accounts in Pakistain, the prosecutor said.

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India-Pakistan

Bhutto assassination suspects to be indicted next week

2010-11-16

[Emirates 24/7] A Pak anti-terrorism court will indict five suspected militants next week for their involvement in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a prosecutor said Monday. If they don't get off for lack of evidence they'll still be alive and well ten years later, like Omar Saeed Sheikh... "The challan ... list of charges ... of the case was presented today in Anti-Terrorism Court-III in Rawalpindi," Chaudhry Zulfiqar, a special prosecutor representing the Federal Investigation Agency, told AFP. "The accused will be indicted at the next hearing on November 23," he said, adding that the trial would be held inside the main prison in Rawalpindi. The five men were all arrested in the weeks following Bhutto's slaying in a gun-and-suicide attack at a political rally in Rawalpindi, a garrison city adjoining the capital Islamabad, on December 27, 2007. The prosecutor said five other suspects had been at large, of whom three had been killed, including Taliban and Al Qaeda commander Baitullah Mehsud. Mehsud, who had denied any involvement in Bhutto's assassination, was killed in a US drone attack in August 2009 in the lawless South Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan. Suspects Aitzaz Shah, Hasnain Gul, Abdul Rashid, Sher Zaman and Rafaqat Hussain were arrested and now face charges of "criminal conspiracy" for bringing the suicide bomber from a tribal area and keeping him at a house in Rawalpindi, Zulfiqar said. "They (the suspects) were the suicide bomber's handlers and did it at the behest of Baitullah Mehsud. They provided the suicide jacket to Saeed alias Bilal and brought him to Liaqat Bagh, where Ms Benazir Bhutto was to address a rally." Zulfiqar also said that the suspects had reconnoitred the Liaqat Bagh area before the attack. He said that the statements of 124 prosecution witnesses had been presented to the court and provided to the accused. Police arrested Shah and Zaman in the troubled northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan in January 2008 and the other three in Rawalpindi the following month. Gul and Rafaqat confessed in February 2008 to helping and sheltering the suicide attacker, to avenge the army's storming of a radical mosque in Islamabad that killed more than 100 people in July 2007. A three-member UN inquiry panel tasked with investigating Bhutto's assassination reported in April that it believed the Pakistani police's failure to probe the slaying effectively "was deliberate". The UN report also said that the government of then military ruler Pervez Musharraf had failed to provide Bhutto with adequate protection. The UN panel said its investigation was severely hampered by intelligence agencies and other officials who had impeded "an unfettered search for the truth".

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India-Pakistan

FIA holds TTP responsible for Benazir's murder

2010-10-27

[Dawn] The Federal Investigation Agency has completed its probe into the liquidation of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and held the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistain responsible for her death in a gun-and-bomb attack, sources in the FIA told Dawn on Monday. The FIA is likely to submit the investigation report before an anti-terrorism court on Oct 30. According to the sources, the FIA's investigation team was reluctant to submit the challan before the court because it could not complete its investigation regarding three absconders in the case, Abdur Rehman, Saddam and Faiz Mohammad. The investigation report, however, is now saying that the three absconders were killed in a military operation in tribal areas. Five of the accused, who are all members of TTP, have already been jugged. They are Rafaqat, Hussain, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid. The head of FIA's team, Khalid Mehmood, told Dawn that the investigation had not been completed, but he did not deny that its report was being presented before the court on Oct 30. But his answer raises a question that if the report is not complete, how will it be produced in a court. The fresh investigation report has accused slain TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud of criminal masterminding the murder of Ms Bhutto. The UN commission, in its report, had said that blaming the TTP leader for the liquidation before completion of investigations was tantamount to throwing the investigation off the scent. The sources said the FIA team did not take statement of any public office holder who is accused in the case. Earlier, the FIA team had decided to send a questionnaire to the interior minister because being a sitting minister he could not be summoned or interrogated. However, The infamous However... no questionnaire was sent to him.One of the main accused in the case, Ashfaq Anwar, who was head of Rawalpindi's Elite Force at the time of the murder and was responsible for the security to Ms Bhutto, has gone to UK on a scholarship. Maj (retd) Imtiaz, the personal security officer of Ms Bhutto, is at present serving as DIG Quetta. A few days ago he held a meeting with President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari.

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