ATC judge hearing Benazir case transferred

RAWALPIND: Once again, the judge of Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), Rawalpindi, hearing the Benazir murder case has been transferred. This time it is Pervez Ismael Joya who has been transferred as the District and Sessions Judge, Chakwal. The transfer orders were issued by the government on Tuesday.
More than six years have passed and six judges have been changed, but the murder case of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has been pending since 2008 with the ATC.
The first woman premier of the Muslim world was assassinated on December 27, 2007, in a gun-and-bomb attack at the end of her party’s rally in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi. Since then, six ATC judges have been changed, while one judge — Chaudhry Habibur Rehman — retired on December 24, 2014.
Chaudhry Azhar, Special Prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), is pursuing the case since May after thespecial prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), is pursuing the case since May after the murder of Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ahmed, who remained the special prosecutor for five years.
According to FIA Special Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar a total of 49 witnesses out of the total 52 have got their statement recorded. He said that during the year 2013, 45 hearings of the case have taken place. He held former president Pervez Musharraf responsible for delaying the case, saying that after his arrival the trial was restarted.
The court started the trial de novo because Musharraf was also an accused in this case. On August 19, ATC indicted him on three counts: criminally conspiring, abetting and murdering Bhutto.
So far, eight accused have been charged in the case. These include former president Pervez Musharraf, former DIG Saud Aziz and former SP Khurram Shehzad. The court has also charged a minor, Aitzaz Shah.