Pakistani investigators on Tuesday included ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf in the list of main accused who conspired to assassinate former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
This came a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced initiation of a high treason case against him for abrogating the constitution.
The Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) submitted a four-point chargesheet against Gen. Musharraf (69) in the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi, accusing him of hatching a conspiracy to assassinate Bhutto. It contained the statement of four witnesses, including Bhutto’s own and that of U.S. journalist Marc Siegel, who had served as her lobbyist.
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The ATC had last year summoned Mr. Siegel to the court. However, he has not yet appeared.
Mr. Musharraf was not produced in the court on Tuesday due to security concerns. The court asked the police to ensure security for him.
He also faces charges in two other high-profile cases — the 2006 killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti in a military operation ;and sacking of judges of the higher judiciary in 2007.
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