Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Pumpitout. We hope you enjoy your visit.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Policemen, Taliban will face trial together for Benazir Bhutto murder
Topic Started: Nov 5 2011, 02:25 PM (310 Views)
shure
Member Avatar
Administrator
Policemen, Taliban will face trial together for Benazir Bhutto murder

Asif Shahzad

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan— The Associated Press

Published Saturday, Nov. 05, 2011 12:18PM EDT

Last updated Saturday, Nov. 05, 2011 3:05PM EDT

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/policemen-taliban-will-face-trial-together-for-benazir-bhutto-murder/article2226811/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=World&utm_content=2226811


Posted Image

Two police officers were indicted Saturday in the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and will face trial along with five members of the Pakistani Taliban, a state prosecutor said.

The policemen were charged with failing to provide Ms. Bhutto with proper security and with destroying evidence, said the prosecutor, Zulfikar Ali. Their indictment triggers a new trial for the Taliban members so that all seven defendants can be tried together, he said.

Ms. Bhutto and 23 other people were killed Dec. 27, 2007, in a gun and suicide bomb attack as she was leaving a rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi. She was campaigning there to return her Pakistan People's Party to power in parliamentary elections just weeks after returning to the country from years in self-imposed exile.

A U.N. commission said the assassination could have been prevented and blamed all levels of government for failing to provide adequate security. It also accused intelligence agencies and other officials of severely hampering the investigation into those behind her murder.

The two police officers are accused of ordering the crime scene to be hosed down within minutes in what investigators believe was a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence, the prosecutor said.

A judge read out the charges against all seven defendants during a closed-door hearing at a prison in Rawalpindi, he said.

The U.N. commission's report said the Rawalpindi police's decision to hose down the crime scene and its failure to collect and preserve evidence “inflicted irreparable damage to the investigation.”

The government of then military ruler Pervez Musharraf blamed Ms. Bhutto's death on Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistani militant commander with reported links to al-Qaeda who has since been killed.

But Ms. Bhutto's party has repeatedly hinted that Mr. Musharraf or his allies were involved.

Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party won the most seats in elections in February 2008 weeks after her killing. Asif Ali Zardari, Ms. Bhutto's husband, won the presidency months later after forcing Mr. Musharraf to quit the post.

The U.N. commission's report said Mr. Musharraf's government, though fully aware and tracking threats against Ms. Bhutto, did little more than pass them on to her and to provincial authorities and did not take action to neutralize them or ensure “that the security provided was commensurate with the threats.”

The commission urged Pakistani authorities to carry out a “serious, credible” criminal investigation.

Pakistan later set up an investigation team of various law enforcement agencies that told the court there was evidence of Mr. Musharraf's involvement.

The court summoned Mr. Musharraf — who has lived in Dubai and London since leaving office — though he never appeared, resulting in him being declared a fugitive.

The Pakistani Taliban have declared a war on the state and often target Pakistani troops, government officials and minorities.

A suicide bomber heading toward a Shiite mosque was killed Saturday when his bomb detonated prematurely in southwestern Pakistan, said Hamid Shakeel, deputy inspector general in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, where the blast took place.

Also Saturday, militants attacked a Pakistani army convoy in the South Waziristan tribal region along Afghan border, killing three soldiers and wounding five more, said two intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.










Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Free Forums with no limits on posts or members.
Learn More · Sign-up Now
« Previous Topic · Lates News · Next Topic »
Add Reply