PPP disappointed over verdict in assassination of Benazir Bhutto

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has expressed disappointment and shock at the verdict in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, which was announced by an anti-terrorism court almost a decade after she was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi.

The PPP said in a statement issued on Friday that it believes justice has not been done by the court, which sentenced two senior police officers to 17 years in prison for mishandling security for Bhutto and the investigation following her death.

The court also acquitted five suspected members of the Pakistani Taliban and declared former dictator Pervez Musharraf a proclaimed offender or fugitive. Musharraf had been charged of being culpable in the murder for not providing adequate security to Bhutto, a twotime prime minister.

The PPP statement said: “The acquittal of Taliban members against whom evidence had been provided is most surprising and raises several questions.” On its face, the verdict seems to be a triumph for militants, it added.

In a separate note, PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Benazir Bhutto, described the verdict as disappointing. The party also noted that while two police officers had been convicted and sentenced, the question of who had ordered them to wash the scene of the crime and destroy crucial evidence hours after Bhutto’s death had not been addressed.