Pakistan Views

Five suspected militants accused of involvement in the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto were remanded in custody by a Pakistan Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) on Thursday, court officials said. Security was tight around the court in Rawalpindi, where former premier Bhutto was martyred in a suicide attack on December 27, as dozens of police rushed the accused men inside, an AFP correspondent said. After proceedings lasting only a few minutes the judge sent Aitzaz Shah, Hasnain Gul, Abdul Rashid, Sher Zaman and Rafaqat — who goes by one name — to the city’s Adiala Jail on judicial remand, a court official said.
“They are facing charges of involvement in BB’s martyrdom and several other suicide attacks and bomb blasts in Rawalpindi,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
They will next appear before the judge on March 10, he said, adding that the provincial government will decide whether the proceedings will be held in the district court or inside the heavily secured jail premises. Police arrested Shah and Zaman from the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan in January and the other three from Rawalpindi in February.
Gul and Rafaqat confessed in February to helping and providing shelter to the suicide attacker, identified as Bilal, to avenge the army’s storming of a Lal mosque in Islamabad in July that killed more than 100 people. Police last week formally charged top Taliban and al Qaeda commander Baitullah Mehsud, who is holed up in the country’s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, with masterminding her killing. He remains at large and has denied any involvement.

Rawalpindi police arrested two persons Rifaqat and Hasnain involved in the murder of Benazir Bhutto have been arrested on Thursday.
According to a foreign news agency, these persons were believed to have accompanied the suicide attackers to the Liaquat Bagh, where Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.
Both of them were arrested during a morning raid here.
The caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz confirmed the arrests by saying another two people have been arrested in connection with attack on Benazir Bhutto.
Earlier last month, a 15 years old Aitezaz Shah was arrested from Dera Ismail Khan.

The co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari used the climax of a 40-day mourning period (Chehlum) to vow that he would risk martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto to win a posthumous election victory for his late wife.
“If I am martyred before completing the mission of Benazir Bhutto, then I should also be buried here,” Asif Ali Zardari said in a speech on Thursday to thousands of mourners gathered outside a white marble mausoleum in Benazir’s ancestral village.
Votes for a new parliament and provincial assembly in an election that was delayed until Feb. 18 after Benazir’s martyrdom in Rawalpindi on Dec. 27.
Zardari, who a day earlier scotched talk that he wanted to become prime minister, has not said whether he favoured working with or against President Musharraf should the PPP ride a wave of sympathy to victory in the vote later this month.
The PPP’s likely choice for the premiership is its deputy chairman, Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
Chehlum
About 20,000 people gathered in the village of Garhi Khuda Baksh to pay their last respects to the most charismatic politician of the past 20 years.
Chants of Quranic verses and sombre hymns filled the chilly morning air in the dusty village set amid paddy fields in a rural backwater of southern Sindh province.
Before Zardari could enter the tomb, hordes of people forced their way inside chanting “Long Live Bhutto”, some weeping and beating their heads in grief.
“This is the fight between establishment and the people,” Zardari said in a speech imploring Pakistanis to vote for PPP.
Moments earlier he had prayed at the rose petal strewn grave in the mausoleum where Benazir lies alongside her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s first popularly elected prime minister.
Her father was toppled and hanged by the military in the late 1970s, but the PPP still draws on his populist appeal.
“Zulfikar Ali Bhutto laid down his life for his mission and so did his daughter. I myself and the party will take forward this mission,” said Zardari.
Conspiracy theories still swirl over who was behind the gun and suicide bomb attack that martyred Benazir.
Controversy even rages over whether Benazir was martyred by a bullet or by a concussive head injury caused by the bomb detonated after an assassin shot at her from close range.
Police have arrested two more suspects in connection with her death, the interior minister said on Thursday.
“Right now, I can only say that two suspects have been apprehended in this connection,” Hamid Nawaz told Reuters.
Two others, including a 15-year-old youth who admitted being a back-up suicide bomber, were arrested last month.
The government and the Central Intelligence Agency suspect the involvement of a Taliban commander with links to al Qaeda, which they say is trying to destabilise Pakistan.
A British police team that the government invited to investigate is expected to submit its report on Friday, according to media.

The will of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP’s) martyred Chairperson Benazir Bhutto has been issued on Tuesday afternoon. The will clearly mentions that her husband Asif Ali Zardari will lead the party until the workers decide on who other is capable of leading the party.
The will is dated October 16 i.e. just two days before her homecoming. The former PPP Chairperson said in the document that she was proud of PPP leadership and that she is desirous of a federal and democratic Pakistan.
Benazir paid glowing tribute to PPP Founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on his steadfastness against the dictatorship.
In the one-page will, Benazir urges PPP workers to continue the mission of her father. In the document, she paid rich tribute to PPP workers, who in her words have worked honestly and sincerely for the completion of Quaid-e-Awam Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s mission for the establishment of a democratic Pakistan.
The will clearly mentions the nomination of Asif Ali Zardari as the next chairman of PPP; as, she wrote that Asif Ali Zardari would lead the party after her. About Asif, the document further says that Asif is a brave person and did not surrender to the injustice and passed over eleven years.
Benazir further writes that Asif has a political mindset and has the ability to keep the party together.
In her will, Benazir expressed her hope that party workers will succeed in fulfilling the PPP manifesto, adding the party workers will work for the elimination of poverty from the country and keep working for the national progress.
Earlier addressing a press conference, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari read his mother’s will.

In a posthumous autobiography excerpted in The Sunday Times, the late Chairperson, Pakistan People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto has named the 16-year-old son of Osama Bin Laden as the leader of one of four gangs of “designated assassins” sent to kill her.

The former prime minister, who was assassinated as she left a rally in Rawalpindi in December, reveals she was warned by both President Pervez Musharraf and a “friendly Muslim government” that Hamza Bin Laden was planning her murder.

The naming of Bin Laden’s teenage son appears to bolster intelligence claims that Hamza is being groomed as a future leader of al Qaeda, the paper report.

In her new autobiography, Benazir writes: “I was told by both the Musharraf regime and the foreign Muslim government that four suicide bomber squads would attempt to kill me. These included, the reports said, the squads sent by the Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud; Hamza Bin Laden, a son of Osama Bin Laden; Red Mosque militants; and a Karachi-based militant group.”

The paper said little has been heard of Hamza since he featured in a joint Taliban and al Qaeda video, shot in 2001, of a militant attack on a Pakistan army camp in South Waziristan, a militant stronghold near the Afghan border.

Last September Hamza was described in reports as a senior al Qaeda leader who had been waging jihad in the lawless tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Benazir’s book also describes how a suicide bomb attack on her motorcade in Karachi when she returned home last October may have been carried out by a would-be assassin, who lined the clothes of a toddler with plastic explosive to turn the child into a bomb. She says a man gestured to her to hold the child, before trying to hand it to police in a nearby van, which exploded soon afterwards.

The Senate on Wednesday condemned martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto, passing a unanimous condemnation resolution to express sympathy with the bereaved family. The Upper House met here after more than three months with its Deputy Chairman Jan Mohammad Jamali in the chair with a host of issues to debate.

However, the House was adjourned till Thursday soon after offering Fateha and reading the resolution by suspending the business of the day to mourn the death of the former Prime Minister, terming it a national tragedy. Besides, a significant number of Senators, new faces of the caretaker Ministers were also present in the House.

Leader of the House, Senator Wasim Sajjad read out the unanimous resolution. Senator Qari Gul Nasib offered fateha for the departed soul. Martyrdom of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, imposition of emergency, promulgation of Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), deteriorating law and order situation, economic crisis - shortage of ‘atta’, price hike, gas and electricity load shedding as well as army action in Swat and tribal areas are in the agenda to be debated in the 40th session of the Upper House.

The House unanimously condemned the martyrdom and expressed its sympathy with the bereaved family. The following is the text of the resolution. This House expresses its profound grief, shock and anger over the martyrdom of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, in an attack at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

Benazir Bhutto was a distinguished politician and a seasoned parliamentarian. She remained Prime Minister of Pakistan twice during 1988-1990 and 1993-1996. She had the unique honour of being the first woman Prime Minister of a Muslim country.

She also remained Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly twice. Her services rendered for the cause of democracy would long be remembered. She was a political leader recognised nationally and internationally.

Throughout her life, she rendered valuable services for the promotion of democracy in the country. The country has suffered an irreparable loss due to her tragic demise.

Benazir Bhutto was a strong believer and defender of the Federation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. She struggled relentlessly for the economic emancipation of the working classes, women and minorities of Pakistan. This House, condemns the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto in the strongest terms.

At this moment, our hearts also go out to her children namely Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Asifa who have lost a loving and caring mother. This House also expresses its heartfelt condolences to her husband Asif Ali Zardari, her mother Nusrat Bhutto and her sister Sanam Bhutto for whom no words can provide any solace or comfort.

We pray to Almighty Allah to shower His infinite blessings on the departed soul. May her soul rest in peace and may God give her family strength and fortitude to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity, the text ends. The House will meet at 10 am on Thursday.

Officials said on Sunday a second suspect had been arrested in connection with a plot to martyr former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Security officials said the man had been detained along with a teenager — 15-year-old Aitezaz Shah — whose arrest was announced earlier, and both were being questioned by investigators.

They were arrested in the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan on Friday while allegedly planning a suicide bombing over the Muslim festival of Ashura, the security officials said.

Shah told interrogators he had been part of a back-up team of three bombers who were tasked with martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto if the original December 27 attack by two men had failed, the officials who requested anonymity added.

Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah confirmed on Sunday that the arrests — the first in connection with Benazir’s martyrdom — had been made and investigations were continuing.

“Yes they were arrested from Dera Ismail Khan and they are being investigated,” Shah told AFP.

“We are looking into all aspects and we are not saying anything unless it is corroborated through investigations,” Shah said when asked if both had given some clues about Benazir’s martyrdom.

Benazir was martyred in a gun and suicide bomb attack at an election rally in Rawalpindi. Government and the CIA have blamed al Qaeda and tribal warlord Baitullah Mehsud for her death.

One of the security officials said Aitezaz Shah was arrested during a security check when he arrived in Dera Ismail Khan by taxi from the North Waziristan tribal area, which borders Afghanistan.

He allegedly told officials that he came to collect a suicide jacket for an attack at the US consulate in Karachi but the programme was changed because of tight security for Ashura, which was celebrated on Sunday.

Instead he was ordered to launch an attack during an Ashura procession by the minority Shia sect, the officials said.

A spokesman for Taliban militants in Pakistan rejected the allegations, saying that the boy arrested in Dera Ismail Khan had no link with the group.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Wednesday sent an appeal to the United Nations requesting it investigate her murder and expressing no confidence in the ability of the Pakistani agencies investigating the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto.

The party has also expressed its dissatisfaction over the involvement of Scotland Yard detectives in the ongoing probe, saying their mandate did not allow them to investigate who was behind the martyrdom.

Pakistan People’s Party on Wednesday approached the United Nations to make a formal request for UN led investigation of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

Copies of ten-page application were sent to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, President of Security Council and its members, sources said, adding, the application was prepared by a legal expert of PPP

Prior to the drafting of the application, former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan and human rights activist, Asma Jehangir were also contacted.

The letter gives details of the events that led to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and her apprehensions about security especially with reference to October 18 bomb attacks.

It also cites supporting evidence that the spokesman said “makes it necessary to set up an independent international investigative commission under the auspices of the Security Council, named Ms. Benazir Bhutto Inquiry Commission.”

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a resolution condemning the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and reaffirming US commitment to help the country battle terrorism and promote democracy.

It also backed efforts by US “war on terror” ally Pakistan to “expeditiously bring to justice” those behind the assassination, and expressed condolences to the families of Benazir and others killed or injured in the attack at an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27. The resolution, which “condemns in the strongest terms the assassination,” was approved by a vote of 413 to 0. It was the first piece of legislation to be taken-up and passed by Congress in 2008.

“The United States and the rest of the international community need to do all we can to promote and support Pakistan’s economic, social, and political development to prevent Pakistan from becoming a failed state,” said Democratic lawmaker Gary Ackerman, who proposed the resolution.

The world has “a vital interest in supporting a free, stable and secure Pakistan so as to stem the rise of extremism in South Asia, prevent global acts of terrorism from originating in Pakistan and support the movement toward stable political institutions, democratic values and the rule of law,” he said. The resolution urged the Pakistani government and people to be relentless in their pursuit of a democratically-elected government, including the holding of free and fair elections.

The resolution also expressed support for the freedom of the media, the ability of political parties to express their views without restriction, and the independence of the judiciary in Pakistan.

A US House of Representatives passed a resolution on Tuesday introduced by a top Democratic congressman has commended the Pakistani government’s decision to get Scotland Yard’s help in probing last month’s martyrdom of former opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

The resolution, tabled by Congressman Gary Ackerman, who chairs the House subcommittee on Foreign Affairs for South Asia, and co-sponsored by 16 other members from both Democratic and Republican parties, is likely to be approved by the House on Wednesday.

The bipartisan group of lawmakers expressed support for Pakistan’s pursuit of those responsible for the martyrdom of Pakistan’s former prime minister and condemning the martyrdom in strongest terms offer condolences to the Benazir’s family and other families affected by the Dec. 27, 2007 tragedy.

It “commends the government of Pakistan for accepting” Scotland Yard expertise in the investigation and “welcomes the provision of assistance by the United Kingdom.”

The legislators also voice support for “efforts by Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice those who have perpetrated this cruel and cowardly attack.” The bipartisan measure “urges the people and Government of Pakistan to be relentless in its pursuit of a democratically-elected government, including the holding of free and fair elections.”

The resolution reaffirms the United States’ commitment to assist Pakistan in combating terrorism.