Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military ruler has been charged with the 2007 murder of Benazir Bhutto, in a move his supporters have said is politically motivated.
Mrs Bhutto died in a suicide bombing in December 2007 as she left a campaign rally. She had only recently returned to the country and had repeatedly claimed that she was at risk of assassination. The investigation into her death has progressed haphazardly, amid accusations of cover-ups and incompetence.
The move is the first time a senior military figure has been indicted and threatens to pitch the new government of Nawaz Sharif into conflict with the country’s powerful generals, anxious to protect one of their own.
Musharraf, 70, who seized power in a military coup in 1999, faces a string of court cases. He has lived largely under house arrest since returning to Pakistan from his four years of self-imposed exile in March. He was led into the anti-terrorism court for a briefing to be told he was being charged with murder – a hearing which only took 20-minutes. No journalists were allowed into the court room.
“He was charged with murder, criminal conspiracy for murder and facilitation for murder,” said Chaudhry Azhar, the public prosecutor, at the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi hearing the case.
However, supporters of the man who ruled Pakistan for almost a decade insist the charges are trumped up and are designed to destroy his chances of resuming a political career. One of his lawyers said: “All the cases against Musharraf are fabricated. He denied all the charges.”
The investigation continues.
