Uproar in Pak's National Assembly over acquittal of Bhutto's 'killers'

A leader of the opposition in the Pakistan National Assembly (NA) has protested against the recent court ruling of suspected five suspected Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) men, accused of killing former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.

Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, the leader of the opposition in the NA, termed the court order as "another black day in the history of the country's judiciary", The Dawn reported.

"Who has got the assassins of Benazir Bhutto released? And why are they being released?" Shah asked.

"Benazir Bhutto used to say that she will grant the people their rights. Today, the same Benazir Bhutto is not getting justice. We should stand united on this issue. The head of the whole nation should hang in shame," he added.

Five TTP members, who were arrested on grounds of allegedly conspiring to assassinate Bhutto, were granted bail on Monday.

The suspects were given bail on surety bonds worth 5 lakh Pakistani Rupees, as reported by The Dawn.

A two-member Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court comprising Justice Mirza Waqas and Justice Sardar Serfraz granted bail to the TTP suspects - Abdul Rashid, Aitzaz Shah, Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul and Sher Zaman.

Shah then recalled when an assassination attack was carried out on former Pakistan President General (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf, the scene was cordoned off from the public for four days for collecting evidence.

He claimed that when Bhutto was killed, all pieces of evidence were "washed out by the authorities within a few hours." He further said that while the plotters of Musharraf's attack had been arrested, the "killers of Bhutto were being released".

"Are we giving a message that those who kill politicians on getting signals from someone will be acquitted?" Shah asked.

Earlier in 2017, the Anti-Terrorism Court of Rawalpindi acquitted the five TTP suspects and handed down 17-year jail terms to two police officers for criminal negligence in ordering the hosing down of the crime-scene and their failure to provide security to Bhutto.

Subsequently, the Anti-Terrorism Court had also declared Musharraf an absconder in the case.

Bhutto was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack just after her election rally in Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

Terming Bhutto as a "national leader", NA speaker Ayaz Sadiq directed Pakistan's Minister for Law and Justice Mahmood Bashir Virk to write a letter to the court asking why the accused were being released in the Bhutto murder case and why the case was not being heard on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Virk, throwing light on recent assassination bids, said that Pakistan was passing through a dangerous phase and such attacks were being carried out on ministers under a "conspiracy against the state".

On a related note, Pakistan Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal escaped a possible assassination bid on his life and sustained injuries on his right shoulder as he was shot at after addressing a public rally in Narowal city of the country's Punjab province on May 6.

The attacker, identified as Abid Hussain, had shot the interior minister from a distance of 15 yards as he was leaving a corner meeting.

As reported by the Express Tribune on last Monday, the Deputy Commissioner of Narowal sent a preliminary report to the Chief Secretary of government, which depicted the attacker as an affiliate to Tehreek-e-Labbaik.