Five Taleban men held in Benazir killing case granted bail
islamabad — A Pakistani high court has granted bail to five suspected Taleban and Al Qaeda militants arrested for their alleged role in the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Benazir, who had served twice as prime minister in the 1990s, was killed in a gun and bomb attack in 2007 in Rawalpindi, the garrison city neighbouring the capital, after she finished addressing a political rally. Her assassination plunged the country into political chaos and spasms of violence.
The government of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf blamed Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baituallah Mehsud for the attack. Mehsud had later denied the charges.
However, police arrested Abdul Rashid, Aitzaz Shah, Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul and Sher Zaman and claimed that they were active members of TTP for their alleged role in the killing.
An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi acquitted the five in its verdict of August 31, 2017, but they were not set free due to alleged links with militants.
A two-member Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court comprising Justice Mirza Waqas and Justice Sardar Serfraz granted bail to the five suspects on surety bonds worth Rs500,000 each.
The bench further directed the authorities concerned to ensure their presence at every hearing of the case. It was not clear when they will be released as they were already shifted to the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore from the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on November 28, 2017. —