PPP to appeal ‘shocking, disappointing’ Benazir murder case verdict
PPP said acquittal of Al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects despite evidence is shocking and is apparently a victory for the Al-Qaeda militants
September 01, 2017
LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has rejected the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) decision in the Benazir murder case as “disappointing” and said that it will explore legal options to challenge the decision.
A meeting presided by party chairman Asif Ali Zardari held consultations on the verdict and expressed shock and disappointment at the decision.
The party in a statement said that justice was not done in the case, adding that acquittal of Al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects despite evidence is shocking and is apparently a victory for the Al-Qaeda militants.
The identity of those who ordered to clean the incident and removal of evidence was not determined, the statement said.
The leadership said that the government filed a case without taking the party into confidence and asked it to appeal the decision, while PPP will explore legal options to become a party to the case and appeal the decision.
ATC on Thursday announced its verdict in the murder case of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto after almost ten years.
The verdict announced by ATC Judge Asghar Khan at Adiala Jail cleared five accused in the case, sentenced two former police officials and declared former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf as an absconder.
Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Abdul Rasheed, Rafaqat Hussain and Hasnain Gul, who were indicted by the ATC in November 2008, were cleared of all charges. The five accused had been charged for killing, hatching criminal conspiracy to kill, abetting the perpetrators, using illegal explosive material and spreading terrorism on Dec 27, 2007 when 22 people, including the former premier, were killed in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh, when she was leaving after holding an election rally.
Saud Aziz, who was the police chief in Rawalpindi at the time of Bhutto’s assassination, and former Rawal Town SP Khurram Shahzad, were sentenced to 17 years each and ordered to pay a fine of Rs0.5 million each.
The two former police officials had earlier been granted bail and were present in court at the time of the verdict being announced. According to the verdict, the former policemen had been awarded 10 years in prison under Section 119 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and seven years under Section 201 of the PPC.
The verdict also declared Musharraf an absconder in the case, ordering the seizure of his property.
The statements of 67 witnesses out of 141 were recorded during the course of proceedings, while the rest were termed unimportant.
