Benazir rose through sunroof on Naheed Khan’s insistence, driver tells ATC

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Naheed Khan had asked Benazir Bhutto to stand through the sunroof of her car before she was assassinated, Javedur Rehman, personal driver of the slain leader, claimed in his statement before the Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC), Rawalpindi, on Wednesday.
As Bhutto stuck out her head from the car through the sunroof, the killers attacked her. ATC Judge Rai Muhammad Ayub Marth recorded the statement of Rehman in Benazir murder case.
The driver said Benazir Bhutto was continuously busy on the telephone. “As we came out of the Liaquat Bagh gate, there was a big crowd of PPP people. Benazir Bhutto was in the vehicle but Naheed Khan insisted her to stand through the sunroof to answer slogans of public on the occasion,” he said.
He said as Benazir stood through the sunroof, the attackers attacked her. “I drove the car fast but suddenly a mechanical fault appeared and we stopped at the Chandni Chowk,” Rehman said. “We informed Major (retd) Imtiaz of the situation and he sent another car on the occasion,” he said.
Lawyers Malik Muhammad Rafiq and Rao Raheem also completed the cross-examination on the statement of Rehman. The ATC judge ordered to write a letter to Foreign Office to provide the record about email of the US journalist Mark Siegel in which he agreed to record statement in the murder case through a video link. The court also issued a notice to prosecution witness Prof Azam Yousaf to present the record in the next hearing.
Judge Marth heard the case in the Adiala Jail and adjourned it till September 14. Mark Siegel has not yet recorded his statement before court.
The US State Department, through a letter, informed the court that Siegel will not record his statement due to his health issues and has sought one month’s time from the court.
The letter was presented in the ATC by officials of the Foreign Ministry. It may be noted that Siegel had refused to come to Pakistan to record his statement in person because of security concerns. However, he was willing to record his statement via video link. A total of 50 witnesses have recorded their statements in the case so far. While reacting to the statement of Javedur Rehman, Naheed Khan said that the revelation was surprising and would her reply in the court.