Prosecutor in Bhutto case assassinated in Pakistan
6-year-old boy also slain in separate attack
ISLAMABAD— Gunmen killed a Pakistani prosecutor Friday who was leading investigations into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and a brutal attack on civilians in the Indian city of Mumbai.
The assassination in the capital, Islamabad, comes at a sensitive time in Pakistan, as the country prepares for nationwide elections on May 11 amid a spate of Taliban attacks on candidates. In the southern city of Karachi, gunmen on motorcycles killed an anti-Taliban election candidate and his son, and a political activist in two other attacks Friday.
The government prosecutor who was gunned down, Chaudhry Zulfikar Ali, was at the helm of a number of highly controversial cases. The two most prominent included Bhutto’s death in 2007 and the 2008 Mumbai attack by Pakistanbased militants that killed 166 people.
The Bhutto case has received renewed attention in recent weeks because of the return of former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf from self-imposed exile. Musharraf, who was in power when she was killed, has been arrested in connection with the case.
Ali was on his way to a court in Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, when gunmen fired at him, hitting him in the head, shoulder and chest, and then fled in a taxi and on a motorcycle, said police officer Arshad Ali. The prosecutor was shot at least 13 times and his car was pockmarked with bullets and the windshield shattered.
He then lost control of his car, which hit a woman passer-by and killed her, said another police officer, Mohammed Rafiq.
Ali’s guard returned fire and is believed to have wounded at least one attacker, Rafiq said. The guard also was injured in the attack. Police have launched a search to find and apprehend the gunmen.
Though Pakistan has experienced rampant violence in recent years, it’s rare for such an attack to happen in the capital, which is home to high-ranking government and military officials, diplomats and international aid workers.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will likely fall on Islamic militants.
Bhutto’s husband, President Asif Ali Zardari, strongly condemned the prosecutor’s slaying and called for a thorough investigation. Government prosecutors have accused Musharraf of being involved in the Bhutto assassination and not providing enough security to Pakistan’s first female prime minister. Musharraf has denied the allegations but is under house arrest on the outskirts of Islamabad in connection with the case. Musharraf blamed the Pakistani Taliban at the time of the attack. Initially the militants denied responsibility, but several years later, they said they did it. The Bhutto case has lingered for years in the Pakistani court system. A number of alleged assailants are on trial but no one has been convicted. The prosecutor told reporters that he had received death threats recently in connection with the case but would not say who from or what they said. He was headed to a hearing related to Musharraf and the Bhutto case at a court in Rawalpindi when he was killed, police said. Ali was also the government’s lead prosecutor in a case related to the attack on Mumbai that is widely believed to have been carried by the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan has put seven men on trial on charges they helped in the Mumbai siege, but the trial has made little progress. Also on Friday, gunmen riding a motorcycle in Karachi shot to death Sadiq Zaman Khattak, who was running for parliament from the Awami National Party, and his 6 year-old son, said police officer Mohammad Ali. The attack occurred as Khattak was leaving a mosque after weekly prayers. Four people were wounded, said Ali, the police officer. The Awami National Party has been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban in the run-up to the election because of its opposition to the militants. The Taliban have threatened two other parties as well, including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which controls Karachi. In the second attack in Karachi, gunmen riding on a motorcycle killed a prominent activist from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mohammad Adil, outside a different mosque, said police officer Mohsin Khan. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The May 11 election is historic because it will mark the first time in Pakistan that a civilian government has finished its term and handed over power in democratic elections. Pakistan has experienced three coups, including the one led by Musharraf in 1999.