Islamabad: A high court in Pakistan on Wednesday constituted a two-member bench to hear the case relating to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of the country. Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Muhammad Ameer Bhatti announced that a bench comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf will hear eight appeals related to the case on February 9.
The decision of the LHC to hear the appeals came after over five and a half years and days after one of the accused -- late General Pervez Musharraf-- died. Notices were issued to Pakistan Peoples Party co-chair and ex-president Asif Zardari, all five accused, Musharraf and convicted police officers, The Express Tribune reported. The court had issued Musharraf's permanent arrest warrant as he never appeared before the court.
However, after death his name is likely to be removed from the list of accused and the appeal regarding his role is expected to be dismissed. Of the five main accused, Aitzaz, Sher Zaman and Hasnain will appear before the court, while Abdul Rasheed is imprisoned in Adiala Jail. The fifth accused, Rafaqaat, is missing.
Two police officers in the case, Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad are on bail. Both were sentenced to 17 years in prison and a fine of Rs 1 million. Benazir was assassinated on December 27, 2007, after she had addressed an election rally in the historic Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi by a 15-year-old suicide bomber, according to the police reports.
However, still the perpetrators of her assassination have not been brought to books. Apart from her death, over 20 party workers were also killed and 71 others were seriously injured. Four inquiries were conducted into the high-profile case, including by the police joint investigation team, the Federal Investigation Agency, the United Nations and Scotland Yard striving to solve the matter. But no tangible progress was made.
The trial was conducted by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi which in its verdict on August 31, 2017 acquitted the five main accused while awarding 17 years jail sentence each to the two senior police officers for their failure to protect her. The matter was later challenged in the LHC. Musharraf was named in the case in February 2011 but he never appeared before the court and in the final verdict the ATC declared him an absconder. The court had directed authorities to seize Musharraf's properties and issue perpetual arrest warrants against him. (PTI)
