Bhutto murder: Pakistan police and Taliban charged

Source: BBC News

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has charged two senior police officers over the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

They were charged with security breaches and failure to protect her, prosecutors said.

Five alleged Taliban militants have also been charged with criminal conspiracy over Bhutto's death.

She died in a gun and bomb attack while campaigning for election. The accused deny the charges.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15605565

...our own.:thumbsdown:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/world/asia/7-pakistanis-are-indicted-in-benazir-bhuttos-killing.html

The circumstances of her death — including the cleansing of the crime scene, the police refusal of an autopsy request, and conflicting reports of the number of attackers and cause of death — have generated confusion about the case and raised questions about the possible involvement of the military government, then led by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Ms. Bhutto’s rival.

A United Nations investigation reported last year that the failure of Pakistani authorities to effectively investigate the killing was “deliberate” and that the investigation had been “severely hampered” by the country’s powerful intelligence agencies.

The report singled out Mr. Aziz, the police chief, for ordering the washing of the scene and impeding the investigation. But it also said that Mr. Aziz gave the order after receiving a call from army headquarters, possibly involving Maj. Gen. Nadeem Ijaz Ahmad, then director general of military intelligence.

The government had blamed Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, for masterminding the attack. Mr. Mehsud was killed by a C.I.A. drone strike in 2009.

Mr. Musharraf, who fled the country in 2008 under threat of impeachment, has also been charged in the case. A Pakistani court issued an arrest warrant for him in February, accusing him of failing to provide Ms. Bhutto with adequate security.