A list of questions posed by Mr. Akram Sheikh to Asif Zardari, regarding the planned assassination of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. These questions are very probing and timely and if left unanswered will directly implicate Asif Zardari in Benazir’s death. Mr. Akram Shaikh has has raised some good and valid questions for everyone to ponder over
1. With the NRO still around, striking down all corruption cases, and having become president of PPP and also having sole control over all of Benazir’s property and assets, is there anyone in the world who has benefited more from late Benazir’s death than Mr. Zardari?
2. Does it not make him Suspect Number One for her murder, especially when he is also facing various murder charges, including that for murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto?
3. Mr. Zardari is already implicated in a murder case. Benazir knew about the workers’ and her party leaders’ reservations about Mr. Zardari.
4. Why did she not consult or even share this decision with the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the party?
5. And if not the CEC, is there any person in the whole world who can testify that she shared with him or her, the decision that, after her death, Mr. Asif Zardari will to lead the party?
6. If Benazir was so careful to write a will, then what was so secret about it? She should have taken the CEC into confidence or announce it at a rally, to protect Mr. Zardari from any later claims that the will is fake.
7. Keeping secret the contents of the will must have been a huge burden for Mr. Zardari.
- 8. From 18th October till her murder, did Mr. Zardari share with any person Benazir’s will or decision that in case of her death, she wanted him to lead the party?
9. Why has Mr. Zardari not made the whole document, the will, public?
- On the excuse of the document being the property of Bilawal, Mr. Zardari has kept hidden that document in his pocket on the basis of which he has claimed to be head of one of the largest parties in Pakistan. This will makes all the difference.
- Why is it a secret?
- Why would Benazir want her father’s party to be headed by a man who didn’t love or respect her and who she did not even think worthy of giving him a party ticket for running as a Member of National Assembly?
- The foundation of all murder investigations is the postmortem. It confirms cause of death, which then becomes the focus of all investigation. It was not any Pakistan Muslim League party official or government official, but it was Mr. Zardari himself who stopped the authorities from conducting a postmortem and buried Benazir Bhutto without it.
- What did he have to hide, if anything at all?
- Why is it that since her arrival in Pakistan on the 18th of October and till her assassination on the 27th of December, Mr. Zardari was not by her side, looking after the security of his wife? Is it not the foremost responsibility of any husband to ensure safety of his wife? Yet when it came to ensuring her burial without a postmortem and taking over her party, he rushed to be in Pakistan in no time.
- On the death of his beloved wife, has Mr. Asif skipped shaving for a single day? [This question may sound silly but it says a lot about the spouse’s mental condition after such a tragedy.]
- The suicide bomber and the shooter(s) were working according to a plan. And their plan depended on Benazir coming out of the sunroof, with Makhdoom Amin Fahim safely inside.
- Why were they so sure that Benazir would come out? It was a gamble. Could it be possible that Mr. Fahim encouraged her to stand up and wave to party workers outside?
- So far, the one person who has benefited most from that secret document, Benazir’s will, is the very person who is keeping custody of that document and who produced it at the time when CEC was in session to decide the question of party leadership. No one, not even any party leader, has read that document, let alone confirms that it is in Benazir’s handwriting.
- Had Mr. Asif Zardari and Makhdoom Amin Fahim planned what they will do in case of Benazir’s murder?
- Why none of these two (future Chairman and future Prime Minister) looked confused or angry on the day of the murder?
- They worked together with strange smoothness and coordination. There was no outburst and no anger. Both knew their moves.
- Why was it that the only person who cried and showed anger at Benazir’s death was her biggest political rival, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, and not her husband?
- After her death, what is Mr. Zardari going to do with the sale proceeds of Surrey Palace and other assets that the couple have all over the world?
- Close party circles have information about the nature of relationship between Mr. Zardari and Benazir. Was he used to beating and abusing Benazir?
- Only party officials who were close to Benazir can shed light on this.
- And, finally, is Mr. Zardari remarried to anyone else?
Mr. Akram Sheikh is a prominent Pakistani lawyer.
