For the second time in a week, an anti-terrorism court on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for the former President, Pervez Musharraf, in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case. The arrest warrant — first issued on February 12 — was re-issued after the court was informed that the Federal Investigation Agency had been unable to serve the warrant as Mr. Musharraf was no longer in Pakistan.
The court instructed the prosecutor to serve the warrant not just at the former President's Islamabad residence but also at his present station in the U.K. where he is in self-imposed exile. The arrest warrant was issued for Mr. Musharraf after the FIA urged the court to declare him an absconder as he was not cooperating with the investigations.
In April, a United Nations report on the assassination had said that the then government under Mr. Musharraf had failed to provide adequate security to Benazir Bhutto. Also, questions were raised over the way the investigation was conducted; in particular the decision to wash down the place where she was assassinated.
On Friday, the former President's All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) held demonstrations in different parts of the country protesting the issuance of arrest warrants. Stating that the arrest warrants were politically motivated, APML activists said hurdles were being put in the way of Mr. Musharraf's return to Pakistan so as to keep him out of national politics.
