Pakistan Ex-Leader Musharraf Charged Over Bhutto Murder

BBC
August 20, 2013

Mr Musharraf returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile earlier this year.
Mr Musharraf returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile earlier this year.

Pakistani ex-President Pervez Musharraf has been charged in connection with the 2007 assassination of opposition leader and former PM Benazir Bhutto.

The former military ruler has denied charges of murder, criminal conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder.

It is the first time a current or ex-army chief has been charged with a crime in Pakistan. Mr Musharraf says the charges are politically motivated.

Ms Bhutto was killed at an election rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

This indictment had long been expected but was delayed because of threats to the former military ruler from the Pakistani Taliban. When he finally made an appearance in the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi it was amid tight security.

Six others were charged along with Mr Musharraf, including four suspected militants and two senior police officials. The court set the next hearing for 27 August.

Mr Musharraf’s legal team say the evidence against him is fabricated and dismissed the indictment: “These charges are baseless. We are not afraid of the proceedings. We will follow legal procedures in the court,” his lawyer, Syeda Afshan Adil, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

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