RAWALPINDI, Dec 4: A trial court issued on Saturday non-bailable arrest warrants for former Rawalpindi city police officer Saud Aziz and SP Khurran Shahzad in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.
Anti-Terrorism Court-III Judge Rana Nisar Ahmed, deciding an application of the Joint Investigation Team of the Federal Investigation Agency about summoning of the two police officers for alleged negligence on their part for security of the former prime minister, issued warrants to ensure their presence at the next hearing on Dec 9.The investigation team has requested the court to call the two officials and question them about their role in hosing down the crime scene outside Liaquat Bagh, where the PPP leader was assassinated, and halting her post-mortem.
The JIT had almost copied findings of the Punjab police alleging the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan had planned and killed the PPP leader.
The investigators, while clearing all other government functionaries, have put the two police officers at the disposal of the court.
According to the final investigation report, Khurram Shahzad, then SP of Rawal Town, had ordered the cleaning of the crime scene and Saud Aziz, then city police chief, had got post-mortem of Ms Bhutto stopped.
The investigators had said though they could not collect concrete evidence against them, enough material had been gathered through statements of different government functionaries.
Separately, the trial judge directed the FIA to inform the court about the legal status of the vehicle in which Ms Bhutto was riding on the fateful day because Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, sister of President Asif Ali Zardari, had sought possession of the vehicle.
Dr Azra has sought legal custody of the white land cruiser (BF-7772) on the ground that she owned the vehicle and if it was no more needed by investigators, the vehicle should be returned to her.
Talking to reporters outside the Adiyala jail where the trial of the five accused was being carried out, FIA's special prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar said they would oppose the application for custody of the vehicle.
He said the vehicle carried marks of the blast and blood stains and could be needed during recording of statements of prosecution witnesses.
The lawyer said it could only be returned after statements of all witnesses were recorded.
In another development, the court directed the jail authorities to allow Aitzaz Sherazi, one of the accused, get basic education while in prison.
Earlier, the jail officials had declined the request of Aitzaz for education saying he was too dangerous to be allowed to meet other prisoners.
Aitzaz, Sherzaman, Abdul Rasheed, Rafaqat Hussain and Hasnain Gul have been waiting for the past three years for their trial to begin.
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