Pakistan Peoples Party can’t seem to do anything right. If the PPP thought things just couldn’t get any worse, they just did. In a shocking development, the former protocol officer of Benazir Bhutto Shahid has nominated Rehman Malik and Babar Awan among others as prime suspects in her murder.
ISLAMABAD: Former Protocol Officer to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and member of the PPP Federal Council Chaudhary Muhammad Aslam, Advocate, has formally sought registration of a murder case against former President Pervez Musharraf, former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, former IB chief Syed Ijaz Hussain Shah, two serving ministers and 8 high-ranking police and administration officers for their alleged involvement in her assassination.
Chaudhary Aslam, who was standing guard duty on Benazir Bhutto’s jeep’s running panel at the time of her assassination, submitted a 4-page complaint to the CPO Rawalpindi requesting for the registration of a formal FIR against the cited individuals. The application was officially received by the CPO office and given the diary number 1,497. The CPO told The News that the application has been sent to the legal branch.
Ch Aslam also named the then interior minister Lt Gen (R) Hamid Nawaz, Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema, Irfan Illahi, Saud Aziz, Yaseen Farooq and Khurram Shahzad accusing them of direct or indirect involvement in the conspiracy to kill Benazir.
Justifying the delay in filing the case, the complainant said that the applicant had been waiting and watching the stance of the federal and provincial governments, particularly the federal government of her own party which had suggested to conduct the investigation from the United Nations.
The United Nation Commission announced its terms of reference according to which it would be a fact-finding mission for determining the facts and circumstances of the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
It has been agreed between the government and the United Nation that the responsibility of determining criminal responsibility of perpetrators of assassination would remain with the Pakistani authorities. As the UN team will not be empowered to launch criminal proceedings under the circumstances mentioned above, it is therefore, requested to you to register an FIR against the mentioned accused, the application said.
When contacted, Spokesman of the President Farhatullah Babar said several people are in the habit of levelling allegations. Rejecting the allegations levelled against two serving ministers, Babar said the fair investigation into the case will bring out the truth.
A PPP leader said the former protocol officer is under the influence of party dissidents like Naheed Khan and her husband. He said such people continue attempts, though futile so far, to embarrass the government.
Source: The News
The latest FIR nomination has broken the surface calm that had descended on the BB murder case since the mysterious killing of security chief for party leader Asif Zardari, Khalid Shahenshah, seen here acting suspiciously during the last few minutes of Benazir’s life:
Khalid Shahenshah was killed almost exactly a year ago
The questions are: Did the UN team discover something the PPP didn”t want it to? Are the new Cyber Crime Law impositions (and restrictions) on SMS & Emails a part of the damage control strategy for the coming storm? Whose turn is it to mysteriously die next?
And most importantly, why do important people linked to Bhutto family murders keep dying mysteriously while the Bhutto family is in power. Who can forget the series of unexplained deaths among the investigating team that was created to probe Murtaza Bhutto’s murder?
Rehman Malik is indeed a most interesting character and it is interesting to note that his meteoric rise has been attended by unexplained circumstances, endless intrigue and epic corruption.
Perhaps another UN teams needs to be invited to declare Rehman Malik innocent. Obviously, the good Dr. Rehman Malik of Edgware Road, London Town, does not need to worry too much about the UN digging up his past. Rehman Malik has cooperated” extensively with the United Nations in the past, most recently in Iraq.
After Rehman Malik’s and Babar Awan’s nomination in the FIR, the plot has not only thickened, but sickened considerably, and all eyes are on the President’s House now to see how it responds.
But don’t hold your breath for signs of credible action to come out of the Presidency! Most likely, it will just be Fauzia Wahab, who is nobody’s idea of credibility personified.
Things to watch out for:
Another round of suspicious fires in government buildings that selectively target record offices. The past is uncomfortable, even more so, if it is documented in official files.
Indeed, nobody will grudge the PPP its efforts to sweep the latest FIR nomination under the carpet or to put pressure on the former protocol officer himself to withdraw it.
