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An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi announced the verdict in the Benazir Bhutto murder case on Thursday, acquitting five Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) suspects and announcing 17-year imprisonment for two police officials.
The ATC also declared retired Gen Pervez Musharraf an absconder in the case. The ATC had named Musharraf in the case in February 2011.
Saud Aziz, who was police chief of Rawalpindi when Bhutto was assassinated in 2007, and Khurram Shahzad, a former Superintendent of Police (SP) at Rawal Town, were each awarded 17 years in prison. The two, who were out on bail, have already been arrested.
The two former policemen have each been awarded 10 years in prison under Section 119 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and seven years each under Section 201 of the PPC.
They have also been fined Rs500,000 each; in case they do not pay the fine, they will have to spend another six months in jail, said the court.
Aziz and Shahzad, who had been released on bail in 2011, were accused of negligence in security arrangements which subsequently led to the assassination of the former prime minister in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on Dec 27, 2007.
The five TTP suspects — Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid — have been cleared of all charges in the murder trial.
Court has directed authorities to seize Musharraf's properties and issue perpetual arrest warrants for the former dictator.
A joint investigation team implicated Musharraf in the case, saying that his government did not provide adequate security to the former prime minister despite her repeated requests.
Apart from Musharraf, five other men — Baitullah Mehsud, Ahmad Gul, Iqramullah, Abdullah, and Faizullah — have been declared absconders.
Nearly 10-year long case
During the case, 68 witnesses appeared on behalf of the prosecution and recorded their testimonies. The police presented three challans before the court, wheras the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented five.
The judge hearing the case was changed eight times.
In 2013, FIA's special prosecutor in the case was killed by unknown assailants. Doctors said he had been killed with 10 bullets targeting his chest and shoulder.
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On DawnNews
Comments (93) Closed
Aug 31, 2017 03:51pm
Oh what a surprise!!! All political moves, no evidence.
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Aug 31, 2017 03:53pm
Yes, but who was behind the plot to murder BB? That's the bigger question. The functionaries or the men who pulled the trigger may be found guilty. But the people who ordered the murder are the real kiillers. And it was not Musharraf, I'm certain of it.
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Aug 31, 2017 03:54pm
New set of politics starting...
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Aug 31, 2017 03:58pm
Justice finally, after nearly a decade.
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Aug 31, 2017 03:59pm
As I am not aware of case completely , on which grounds court has made police officers guilty??
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Aug 31, 2017 03:59pm
Politically motivated decision.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:01pm
Did the two police officers, who have been awarded 17 years prison term, kill Benazir?
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Aug 31, 2017 04:04pm
Musharraf was given permission by the Government of PMLn to go abroad. If not, Musharraf would have been behind the bars today as well. Sharif and Musharraf might be getting cosy in London for reciprocal favors, though he should have faced justice here.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:04pm
So one step forward towards the real story.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:06pm
Well, seizure of Musharraf's estates will not do any good to PPP.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:06pm
Who is the killer?
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Aug 31, 2017 04:10pm
A few drops of tears for BB. RIP
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Aug 31, 2017 04:13pm
Nothing happened for 5 years in PPP government? All very fishy!
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Aug 31, 2017 04:13pm
Great judgement
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Aug 31, 2017 04:14pm
This was almost a simple case, look at who was going to benefit from her death and there you have your answer
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Aug 31, 2017 04:16pm
The anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has announced their verdict but have they conducted a post-mortem of the Benazir Body and have ATC taken the situation of Karachi during that day. The Mess conducted by PPP in Karachi e.g Burning of Public Property, Killing of Innocent people, where was the police that day in Karachi ? etc....
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Aug 31, 2017 04:18pm
Just check when the last time someone punished for negligence in Pakistan.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:19pm
Court declared Musharraf as absconder but did not mentioned why he was wanted in the case.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:20pm
The real culprit with forged will is still out.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:21pm
Why they spared Pervaiz Muhsarraf as he is the main culprit nominated by Benazir herself
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Aug 31, 2017 04:21pm
who benefited from her death?
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Aug 31, 2017 04:21pm
Legally,what's the position of Gen.Pervez Musharraf?As he was freed from jail to go for abroad for medical treatment.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:23pm
I feel bad for Benazir she was on her fathers footsteps for prosperity of country.
Killing well wishers of the country will be counted and law will be served on such evaders.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:25pm
@Third Umpire... Excellent question to which the answer is a resounding NO.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:26pm
@Third Umpire - No they didn't. The policemen were just found 'negligent' and got 17 years for it.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:27pm
@ABE.. Look no further than the answer to the question "who was the only person who benefited from BB's murder" and that too on the basis of a handwritten will in Urdu.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:30pm
At least some logical conclusion arrived after more than 10 years.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:33pm
In fact it was Gen Musharraf who advised Benazir Bhutto to cancel her plan to return to Pakistan but the latter totally ignored the Genersl's advise.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:33pm
Our concerned neighbor should know that accountability is for everyone in Pakistan if he's rich or poor. General or a politician
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Aug 31, 2017 04:38pm
@Shan Kazmi... PPP?? Why would a verdict or confiscation etc., benefit PPP? AAZ and cronies plus the Bacchas have more than enough bucks.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:38pm
Why no action against Model Town murderers.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:42pm
@Arif wali
That was a hunch. Not a fact. She felt that way. It doesn't mean he can be guilty since she hallucinated him as a killer?
Regardless if the police officers faced the music then the detailed judgement should at least point to some bigger hands as well.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:43pm
Somethings do not sound right here. 17 judges changed, prosecutor killed during the trial? And at the end policemen responsible for security indicted. Musharraf was the one who arranged the arrival of Benazir into Pakistan after exile and it is a surprise he is made responsible for murder? Looks like this case has lot of holes.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:43pm
@Yahya Ali... Yeah they are really concerned about accountability here. Especially when AAZ is acquitted as the Judge threw out notarised photocopies and the star witness disappeared.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:45pm
100% politically motivated decision. AZ is cleared of all corruption cases and to equalize Kulsom Mawaz sympathy vote this verdict was issued. What a country:(
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Aug 31, 2017 04:48pm
Real problem is high profile assassinations always remains mystery.
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Aug 31, 2017 04:56pm
Another NRO for PPP.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:01pm
Is there any corraborative evidence againt Musharraf in Benazir murder case other than that he as President of Pakistan should have provided security to her?
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Aug 31, 2017 05:06pm
@Truthful he is guilty - zero doubts
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Aug 31, 2017 05:07pm
total political decision... no merit in it
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Aug 31, 2017 05:08pm
@ABE The court has not been able to pin down by name who ordered the killings. An assassination is a crime that even the best security cannot thwart at times. This one was by remote and anyone in her own party could have ordered it. Pervez was in no position to order it, or it would have been out by now. The police chiefs imprisoned have been made scapegoats. In fact, if they are guilty then the complete security apparatus of Pakistan stands guilty. But the unanswered question is, who ordered it. There is no hint of suspicion in the investigation too.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:12pm
Musharraf and interior minister both advised BB against roaming around due to threats against her. She even mentioned this in her interview few days before her death. Musharraf and BB had an agreement which would have kept him as a President. This probably would have saved Pakistan from 10 years political, economic, and foreign policy mess that they are facing now.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:20pm
2 police officers made scape goats
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Aug 31, 2017 05:20pm
@ABE why ask what you already know?
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Aug 31, 2017 05:22pm
@Sami Ullah Swati musharraf did not kill that woman, that we can all agree on!
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Aug 31, 2017 05:23pm
What about hundreds others who were killed & robbed by PPP supporters in following riots. I still remember that dark night of horror in Karachi.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:33pm
17 years seem a bit harsh for the police officers for 'negligence in security arrangements' of a politician - on the other hand, politicians' continuous negligence keeps causing several direct & indirect deaths across the country but who is comparing !
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Aug 31, 2017 05:35pm
So Taliban were not the ones who killed BB. Then who killed her and for what gain? This is the real question.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:35pm
These two police officers have been made a scapegoat.The security was adequate, they took the BB from the car to the podium and brought her back safely to her bullet proof car. She stood up from the sunroof of her car and started waiving to the crowd who were chanting slogans. Now her own security team should have never allowed her to come out of the sunroof.The former PP interior minister Mr.Malik was in charge of her security who did not stop her or was overruled.Did the NAB recorded the statement of her private secretay who was also in the car?She knows exactly what happened at the time. To me these police officers are innocent of any wrong doing and sentenced unjustly. I am sure they will be acquitted on appeal to a higher court.Why not convict her own security team members for negligence.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:37pm
They found some escape goats. Shame! Shame!
What about those who were with her and ran away.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:43pm
Anybody noticed Mr. Zardari's stone-deaf silence over this verdict? You would think he will be at the court, making statements to the press right away, express relief or honor the memory of his departed wife. NO, he's just too busy solving problems for poor people of Sindh to pay attention to such an outcome.
You've got to hand it to him for being so coy and playing innocent.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:43pm
17 years is too harsh for negligence. 5 years imprisonment was enough.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:50pm
@Kainth you're absolutely right...now what the police officers have to do is,either learn the basics of fortune telling or should resign.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:53pm
5 suspects cleared after 10 years. I presume they stayed in lockup .Two police officials will appeal, court will grant them bail and case will continue next 10 years. FIA special prosecutor was murdered, so was custome officer who caught Ayan Ali smuggling over 1/2 million USdollars.
Who did what , that is the lingering question. As far Musharraf, he is not going to come back thanks to the decision of PML(N) government which removed his name from ECL.
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Aug 31, 2017 05:56pm
The person who got the most benefit from her murder must be the first suspect.
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Aug 31, 2017 06:00pm
So there were two police officers who killed Benazir and nobody asked these police officers to do so. I am happy with the court decision so are some of my friends in Dubai.
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Aug 31, 2017 06:08pm
How is Pervez Musharraf an an accused in this case? Other than he was president at that time I find no other reason for it. Should president of pakistan be named in FIR everytime when someone is murdered?
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Aug 31, 2017 06:14pm
All is good but who is the killer or conspirator?
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Aug 31, 2017 06:22pm
Did anyone caught on murder charges? Policemen used as scapegoats. Big fishes still at large.
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Aug 31, 2017 06:56pm
@ABE Who ordered the water hosing at the scene of the crime immediately after the murder, to wash out any evidence or clues to the murder, instead of cordoning of the entire area?
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Aug 31, 2017 06:58pm
ATC verdicts can always be challenged in normal courts, which is what is going to happen.
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Aug 31, 2017 07:00pm
Those who are arrested will give true info and loop holes from behind the bars and it is guaranteed Zardari will be brought to gallows for his last breathing.
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Aug 31, 2017 07:15pm
In my opinion there are other culprits behind the assassination as well. Who had asked BB to go out of the sunroof of Bullet proof vehicle, who had called her shortly before the attack and why her mobile phones were not handed over to the investigation team
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Aug 31, 2017 07:26pm
Nobody is above law, regardless of stature. Bottom line.
Given Musharraf was chief executive & accountable according to the responsibility at the highest executive level, the only Thing that should hold Musharraf accountable is if he was negligent in exercising the required due diligence at the highest executive level.
This is what Musharraf should get it across to the court.
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Aug 31, 2017 07:44pm
Can Musharraf be really punished?
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Aug 31, 2017 08:07pm
The target in this case was Pakistan itself. BB was braver than most male politicians. She was probably eliminated so that a more pliant leadership took over in Pakistan. Her death was a disaster for Musharraf's Presidency which ended soon after.
It is a shame that after all of these years, the only people found guilty (of negligence) are two police officers.
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Aug 31, 2017 08:34pm
In my view, two police men who are sentenced on Bibi Benazir case are made scapegoat, and real culprits who planned and executed the murder are still at large. This shows that either the evidence presented was very weak or influential people have prevented a through investigation. I have my strong reservations, as anything is possible in Pakistan!
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Aug 31, 2017 08:47pm
Decision after 10 years,declared Pervez,one of architect of this murder.He should have be arrestedwhile he was in Pakistan.
What matter now,why decision came after nawaz dismissal.
Was nawaz aware of this plan?
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Aug 31, 2017 09:03pm
why award cops 17 years? on what grounds?
and what about the actual killer?
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Aug 31, 2017 09:04pm
Disappointed with the verdict, Musharraf is politically scapegoat in the case.
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Aug 31, 2017 09:11pm
It is now confirmed. Another major NRO with PPP.
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Aug 31, 2017 09:46pm
"FIA's special prosecutor in the case was killed by unknown assailants." Now I know the reason for acquittal.
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Aug 31, 2017 09:46pm
Police officers failed to provide adequate security and so they are definetly responsible.
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Aug 31, 2017 10:13pm
politics and politics. Nothing else.
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Aug 31, 2017 10:44pm
What a waste of time....10-years zero result. Question many suspected Taliban aressted on various murder crimes....always gets acquitted on lack of evidence. So is police or Rangers wrong or prosecution and judges too afraid to prosecute them or something fishy in this murder. What a judgement, police officers sentenced?. Musharaf fugitive without assertening his role? Why two ppp leaders dubious run away from scene not questioned.? On what grounds were these Taliban's arrested as suspect, any evidence?. All these high profile murder cases will never be concluded in Pakistan..... reasons......??????
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Aug 31, 2017 10:55pm
@Fazal yes you can take the example of Lady Diana after 20 years MI6 Agent confessed
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Aug 31, 2017 11:06pm
@ABE that is right
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Aug 31, 2017 11:09pm
Judgement be viewed in the light of murder of special prosecutor of the case earlier. To sustain conviction u/s 119&201 guilty knowledge is essential ingredient. Whether any proof in this regard was available.
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Aug 31, 2017 11:19pm
This is not but a politically inspired verdict, although the person pulling the trigger has been found guilty, as others have mentioned here, the planner and the one responsible is still enjoying freedom. This is another one of the cases I wish the JIT would look into, so we can find the real culprits.
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Aug 31, 2017 11:44pm
What s beautiful justice, that does not justifying not the deceased neither the culprits who had done this !
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Sep 01, 2017 12:39am
Has the judgement declared the who ordered killing of Bbenizar bhuuto and who implemented and who pulled trigger? Why judge has taken so many years to decide?
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Sep 01, 2017 12:57am
I know this decision will be appealed by Musharraf's lawyers. He provided all the security, NRO, etc to all the parties equally. He had no interest in killing Benazir or N.Shafeef.
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Sep 01, 2017 01:02am
who is the murderer ?. may I request the honorable Judges to name that person / abettor ?.
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Sep 01, 2017 01:09am
For Pakistan to make progress has to stay away from electing people from the two PPP and NS families. There is no shortage of intelligent and dynamic people who can think better and be more loyal than people from Zardari and NS families.
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Sep 01, 2017 01:27am
The innocent guys who were forced to confess the murder to the police should be compensated for their ordeals.
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Sep 01, 2017 02:23am
Justice will only be served when the real person who pulled the trigger and the one who carried out the blast is named and punished.
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Sep 01, 2017 02:31am
@ABE .Yes I support you.
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Sep 01, 2017 04:13am
Need to get out of the dark ages!!
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Sep 01, 2017 04:51am
Verdict shows that how wise are our judges
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Sep 01, 2017 06:34am
Beyond any sense why Musharraf is indicted. Unless he has mind control powers that made Benazir stick her head out of the car, how can he be accused? Rest of the people who were setting in the car remained unharmed.
We are idiots and don't deserve able leaders like Musharraf!
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Sep 01, 2017 07:07am
General Musharaf is not involved in this case
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Sep 01, 2017 08:05am
@Zunaid there is no judgement where is the killer who pulled the trigger and who was pulling strings of killer
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Sep 01, 2017 08:09am
@Harivadan what logic killer is not caught
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