Rogue elements within establishment may: have planned Benazir’s murder: Musharraf

LONDON: Former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf has said that rogue elements within the establishment may have been involved in the planning of Benazir Bhutto's murder. Musharraf made the revelation in a report by BBC.

When the former military ruler was asked if elements within the establishment could have been in touch with the Taliban, Gen (retd) Musharaf said "possibly" yes indeed as the Pakistani society is polarised along religious lines. Those elements could have a bearing on her murder, Musharraf said.

In response to another question, he said "I don't have any facts available. But my assessment is very accurate I think... A lady who is known to be inclined towards the West is seen suspiciously by those elements," the British publication quoted the former president.

The BBC report, by Owen Bennet Jones, further claims that the investigation following the murder was not conducted in good faith and the investigation officer, lawyers and witnesses were murdered under mysterious circumstances. Jones says in his report that only two police officers have been punished in the case during the last 10 years.

The investigative report by BBC further claims that documents in their possession say law enforcement officials were not interested in finding the masterminds or the group involved after arresting lower-level individuals. Khalid Shahenshah, deputed to Benazir for her security, and lawyer Chaudhry Zulfiqar were also murdered under mysterious circumstances, said the report.

The BBC's investigative report also mentions Musharraf's telephone call on September 25 which Benazir referred to as a death threat. According to the report, Musharraf strongly denied making the call and dismissed the idea that he would have ordered her murder. "Honestly I laughed at it. Why would I kill her?" Journalist Mark Siegel has claimed that they were present in Benazir's company at the time of the phone call.

"He threatened me. He told me not to come back. He warned me not to come back," Seigel quotes Benazir as saying. "And he said that her safety, her security was a function of her relationship with him," said Siegel. Musharraf, however, denies making the phone call.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held former military dictator Pervez Musharraf personally responsible for the murder of his mother Benazir Bhutto.