LARKANA: Former interior minister Rehman Malik has appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to order proceedings in the Benazir Bhutto murder case on a daily basis so that elements behind the assassination of the former prime minister could be brought to justice without delay.

Talking to journalists in Faridabad village on Sunday, he said invisible forces had eliminated five of the 16 accused in the murder case and trial of the arrested suspects lingered on.

He claimed that since Ms Bhutto’s murder seven years ago eight judges hearing the case had been changed. The chief prosecutor in the case, Chaudhri Zulfikar of FIA, was killed last year when security provided to him was withdrawn and since then no one had been appointed to the post. He said that five witnesses in the case continued to receive threats.

Also read: Several IS militants arrested, Rehman Malik claims

About the proposal to establish military courts as part of the government’s efforts to combat terrorism, Mr Malik said PPP had reservations about the suggestion because such practice in the past had led to imposition of martial law in the country.

He claimed that the PML-N too had reservations about military courts and there was a need to remove these reservations before giving green light to changes in the law which could pave the way for military courts. The law should ensure that military courts would not be used against political rivals, he added.

Mr Malik said when he and Muttahida Quami Movement chief Altaf Hussain had pointed out the presence of Taliban in cities the then opposition did not believe it. When PPP was in power, he added, its government wanted to formulate strict laws against terrorism but opposition parties were not supportive.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2014