Pakistanis Want To Know Who Killed Benazir Bhutto Six Years Ago

Islamabad, Dec 28, IRNA – Pakistanis look forward to know as to who had killed the country’s twice-elected Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, on November 27 in 2007 in Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad. A bomb attack and gun shots claimed the life of Benazir Bhutto as she stopped to wave to her supporters shortly she addressed a big public meeting of her Pakistan Peoples Party. She had survived another bomb attack just a month earlier in Karachi as she arrived at the end of her exile to take part in parliamentary elections. The Karachi attack on her huge reception had killed nearly 180 of her party’s activists and injured many more. Pervez Musharraf was president at the time of the suicide bombing in Rawalpindi, whose government immediately blamed Pakistani Taliban for the attack, the charge denied by a Taliban spokesman. Besides other cases, Musharraf is also now facing trial in connection with Ms Bhutto’s murder cases, although he had denied any role. No investigation conducted either by the country’s own institutions or by foreigners has identified the real plotters over the past six years. Bhutto’s own party government also could not make any substantial progress. Now all eyes on the proceedings of a anti-terrorism court against some suspects. Bhutto’s party had expressed dissatisfaction at the investigation during Musharraf’s regime that forced him to approach the British police to help Pakistani investigators. The Scotland Yard police had mainly focused on the circumstances which led to the tragic incident. Then the PPP former’s government itself formally requested the United Nations to carry out investigation to determine the possible culprits. The three-member panel, which was headed by Chilean Ambassador to UN Heraldo Mu?oz, in its report in 2010, stated that the attack on Benazir could have been averted if sufficient security measures had been taken. The UN report also could not succeed to determine as who had been behind Ms. Bhutto’s assassination. The security agencies have arrested five suspects -- Hasnain Gul, Rafaqat Hussain, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rasheed for facilitating the assassins. An anti-terrorism court has indicted them. However, they have denied any involvement. Six years have passed, including five years of Ms. Bhutto’s own government, but her killing is still a mystery and the people still wait to know the killers. A large number of supporters of Bhutto’s PPP will be heading to Larkana district in Sindh province to pray for her soul on her 6th death anniversary. They gather every year at her grave, pay homage and raise slogans to demand of the rulers to expose the conspirators who eliminated one of the world’s known leaders. Now every Pakistani expects something from the court’s verdict that could satisfy Bhutto’s party and the people./end