An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Monday decided to hear the Benazir Bhutto murder case on daily basis.

The last witness in the case recorded his testimony during Monday's hearing; the discussion on the case will start from Tuesday (tomorrow). Special public prosecutors Chaudhary Azhar and Khawaja Imtiaz will resume presenting their final arguments.

Former CPO Rawalpindi Saud Aziz and former SP Khurram Shahzad, who are currently on bail as they were accused in the case, and FIA Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar appeared before the ATC on Monday.

ATC Judge Mohammad Asghar Khan postponed the hearing of the case until Tuesday.

Rawalpindi City police station SHO Kashif Riaz on behalf of the state had filed FIR 471/2007 on Dec 27, 2007, against unknown culprits for the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Eight different judges have headed the Benazir Bhutto murder trial and the prosecution has filed eight separate challans since the proceeding started on February 29, 2008.

The four men — Abdul Rasheed, Aitzaz Shah, Rafaqat Hussain and Hasnain Gul — accused of being involved in the 2007 suicide blast that caused the death of PPP chairperson and 20 other people have also been arrested.

When the PPP formed its government in the centre in 2008, the investigation was transferred to the FIA.

The team implicated former president retired General Pervaiz Musharraf and two senior police officers Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad as accused in the case in 2010. Later, the court decided to prosecute Musharraf separately as he failed to appear before the court.

A public prosecutor in the case, Chaudhary Zulfiqar, was murdered when he was on his way to appear before the court for a hearing of the same case in 2013.

Opinion

Editorial

IMF’s unease
Updated 24 May, 2024

IMF’s unease

It is clear that the next phase of economic stabilisation will be very tough for most of the population.
Belated recognition
24 May, 2024

Belated recognition

WITH Wednesday’s announcement by three European states that they intend to recognise Palestine as a state later...
App for GBV survivors
24 May, 2024

App for GBV survivors

GENDER-based violence is caught between two worlds: one sees it as a crime, the other as ‘convention’. The ...
Energy inflation
Updated 23 May, 2024

Energy inflation

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots is already tearing apart Pakistan’s social fabric.
Culture of violence
23 May, 2024

Culture of violence

WHILE political differences are part of the democratic process, there can be no justification for such disagreements...
Flooding threats
23 May, 2024

Flooding threats

WITH temperatures in GB and KP forecasted to be four to six degrees higher than normal this week, the threat of...