The PPP on Monday filed three appeals before the Lahore High Court's Rawalpindi bench, challenging the verdict passed by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

The appeals, filed by Barrister Latif Khosa on behalf of PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, ask the court to announce a punishment for retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in accordance with the ATC verdict.

The ATC, in its ruling on August 31, had directed authorities to seize Musharraf's properties and issue perpetual arrest warrants for the former dictator, while also declaring him an absconder in the case.

"In an email, Benazir Bhutto had told [American journalist and lobbyist] Mark Siegel about the threats made to her life under Musharraf," the appeal states.

In a second appeal, the court has been called upon to change the sentence given to police officers involved in the case.

Saud Aziz, who was police chief of Rawalpindi when Bhutto was assassinated in 2007, and Khurram Shahzad, a former Superintendent of Police at Rawal Town, were each awarded 17 years in prison.

The appeal points out that punishment for murder in the Constitution is death sentence and therefore, the police officers should be given the same.

The third appeal asks the court to award death sentence to the five Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan suspects who were acquitted by the ATC.

The five TTP suspects — Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid — were cleared of all charges in the murder trial.

The appeal states that Shah was given the benefit of being underage in the verdict; however, he, too, should be given the death sentence.

Bhutto was assassinated during a public gathering at Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh on Dec 27, 2007.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...