The Hindu : Front Page : Benazir knew who her killers would be: Zardari

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Monday, Dec 31, 2007
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Benazir knew who her killers would be: Zardari

Nirupama Subramanian

“Benazir’s email can be used as a dying declaration”
EC mulls over postponement

ISLAMABAD: Asif Zardari, husband of the slain Pakistan People’s Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto, said on Sunday that his wife’s email to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer through a friend speaking of the inadequate security provided to her by “Musharraf’s minions” was a “dying declaration” that pointed to her killers.

Mr. Zardari demanded an international investigation into her assassination. He said the PPP would rope in the British government to lobby the United Nations for the same kind of investigation that went into the killing of Rafiq Hariri in Lebanon.

“Our lawyers have assured us that this email can be used as a dying declaration,” he said.

Describing the letter as “self-explanatory,” he said “even in her lifetime, she knew who her killers would be.”

email sent to Blitzer

The email was sent to Mr. Blitzer via her longtime friend Mark Siegel on Oct 26, eight days after she returned to Paksitan and narrowly escaped a twin suicide-bombing at her welcome rally that left over 140 people dead.

Mr. Siegel told the CNN anchor that Benazir had insisted that the contents could be made public only “if I am killed.”

Benazir wrote that if anything happened to her, she would hold President Pervez Musharraf responsible.

“I have been made to feel insecure by his minions,” she wrote, adding that specific improvements that she had asked for in her security had not been granted.

Mr. Zardari said the party rejected the enquiry ordered by the government. The government said earlier that Mr. Zardari could choose the judge who would head the enquiry.

He also said he had rejected the government’s suggestion for a post mortem because he had no confidence in it.

“I have lived long enough in Pakistan to know how these post mortems are done. I know these forensics reports are useless. We know what the wound is and how it was caused. My sister is a doctor and she helped to prepare the body. We have seen such wounds before,” Mr. Zardari said, adding that he was confident she was shot dead.

He dismissed the government claim that Benazir had been killed by a car-lever saying that the investigators had evidently not examined the car, because that lever was made of rubber.

Mr. Zardari said the PPP did not have to do any finger-pointing, because Benazir had done that herself. Despite knowing who her killers were, the PPP would stay in the election because this is what she had wanted.

Recalling the time after her first swearing-in as prime minister when she told him that she had finally avenged the death of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Mr. Zardari said: “We will take our revenge on Benazir Bhutto’s killers through democracy and by democratic means,” he said.

He asked the party’s supporters to stay calm and channelise their anger and grief at the loss of their leader into the voting box on election day.

“Put your stamp on the arrow,” Mr. Zardari said, referring to the PPP election symbol.

EC offices attacked

The Election Commission has said that its offices in several places in Sindh had been attacked in the violence that erupted following Benazir’s killing.

Electoral rolls, ballot boxes and voting screens had been burnt down in Sukkur, Jamshero, Dadi and other towns.

In the NWFP, a candidate of the Pakistan Mulsim league (Q) was shot dead, and the election commissioners of both provinces are said to be reluctant to hold the election as scheduled. The EC is reported to be considering a postponement by 20 or 30 days.

The EC has called an emergency meeting on Monday.

But the strongest signal of postponement came from the PML (Q), an ally of Gen. Musharraf.

PML (Q) spokesman Tariq Azeem said on Sunday the party had already suspended its campaign.

The party is meeting on January 1 to discuss the election, but Mr. Azeem suggested that the elections had to be postponed because of the unrest prevailing in the country.

“I think it will need to be postponed for a few weeks so that peace can be restored in the country,” he said.

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