RAWALPINDI, Aug 8 Fresh FIR about the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto cannot be registered as five accused are being tried for their alleged role in the suicide attack.

This was stated by City Police Officer (CPO) in his written comments filed with the court of an additional district and sessions judge hearing a petition filed by a lawyer seeking registration of a murder case against former president Pervez Musharraf, former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan and others.

Judge Mian Khalil Naz was to take up the petition of Advocate Chaudhry Mahmood Aslam claiming to be the protocol officer of Ms Bhutto on the occasion of her assassination on December 27, 2007. The judge was on leave and the duty judge Abdul Rehman Awan put off the hearing till August 13.

The city police chief said only a blood relative and family member of the deceased could get registered a new case. He said the request of the petitioner to register a fresh FIR after the lapse of 18 months was unjustified as according to police record he was not one of the 34 injured witnesses in the case.

The police officer told the court that a high level investigation was carried out by a team headed by an additional inspector general of police but the petitioner never appeared before the police to get his statement recorded.

He said the trial against the five arrested accused was underway with an anti-terrorism court that had also recorded the statements of many witnesses.

The petitioner alleged that both Rehman Malik and Babar Awan had left the scene in a car reserved for Ms Bhutto for her use in case of an emergency before she departed from Liaquat Bagh.

He also alleged that the policemen responsible for the security of Ms Bhutto had changed the route of her return making it easier for the attackers to target her. The petitioner said he had hoped that an impartial investigation would be carried out after the formation of the PPP-led government in the centre. He said he was perturbed after the government asked the UN probe team not to fix responsibility on any person, and had sought registration of a fresh case.

Meanwhile, ATC-I Judge Malik Akram Awan issued summons for prosecution witnesses to appear before the court to get their statements recorded in the assassination case of Ms Bhutto on August 22.

The judge is conducting the jail trial of Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Abdul Rasheed, Rafaqat and Hasnain Gul in the case.