Who killed Benazir Bhutto is still a mystery

Interior Minister Rehman Malik briefed the Sindh Assembly about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, which may not have been world-shaking but it certainly held everyone who heard it gripped.

The truth or at least all of it, in our country, is always hard to acquire. However, some interesting facts have been revealed by Rehman Malik in response to a resolution, demanding that the report into the December 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto be made public.

Before the briefing, the report has been kept under cover, except sharing with the PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC). The report, which was made public in Lahore, after Malik’s briefing in the Sindh Assembly, brought up some scheming facts along with a lot of old hat.

Reiterating the PPP’s point of view, Rehman Malik accused former president Pervez Musharraf for the murder, saying he not only have knew about the assassination but had also assisted it by failing to put in place proper security.

According to the report, the killing was carried out by Baitullah Mehsud, the then chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It further claimed that Musharraf had organised the rushed and irrational news conference, which was addressed by Javed Iqbal Cheema, the then in charge of the Crisis Cell Management.

Furthermore, senior police officers were also blamed for failing to permit an autopsy. The report offered little that is really new as we have heard much of this in the past.

A very few new points have also been raised in the report. It observed that former students of the Darul Uloom Haqqania, Akora Khattak, one of the largest and best known seminaries in the country, were involved. It, however, offers food for thought if really this is true.

According to the report the plot was hatched at the seminary, primarily to penalize Benazir Bhutto for her role in the Lal Masjid operation, went through, of course, under Musharraf. The standing of the seminary gives something of a new twist to the story.

Maulana Samiul Haq, the founder of the Jamia Haqqani, immediately rejected the charges. However, the account given that it is backed by sufficient evidence, should make us think harder about the role played even by the better known seminaries.

Apparently, the actual tools may have been provided by al Qaeda and the TTP but the incumbent is not apprehending the real nettle, perhaps for fear the military establishment would be annoyed if they do so. The nation deserves answers.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=13628

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Feb 23 2012. Filed under National, Opinion, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.