LAHORE: A provincial review board comprising three judges of the Lahore High Court on Friday adjourned a matter about further detention of five people acquitted by an anti-terrorism court of charges in former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s murder case.

Police produced the detainees before the review board under strict security arrangements and sought extension in their detention period. However, the board headed by Justice Abdul Sami Khan deferred the matter till Feb 19 due to unavailability of Punjab Advocate General Shakilur Rehman Khan.

The Punjab government had detained the men soon after their release by Rawalpindi’s trial court in the murder case of the former premier. Those acquitted, including Rafaqat Hussain, Sher Zaman, Hasnain Gull, Abdul Rasheed and Aitzaz Shah, allegedly belonged to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The board had on Nov 28, 2017 extended their detention for 90 days.

Besides acquitting these five men of the charges, the trial court had declared former president retired Pervez Musharraf an absconder in the case and awarded 17-year imprisonment each to two senior police officers -- Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad -- for showing negligence in security arrangements which led to assassination of Ms Bhutto on Dec 27, 2007 outside Liaquat Bagh of Rawalpindi. However, a bench of the LHC later suspended their sentence.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2018