ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was attacked from three sides on 27th December in Rawalpindi, one of the assassin seen in the videos fired on BB from the left side but her cause of death was a wound on the right side of her head. 

Her vehicle was supposed to turn left towards Gawalmandi from Liaquat Bagh but police blocked the road from the left side and her vehicle was forced to turn right after the public meeting and she was attacked immediately after taking right turn. 

These facts were revealed in a special investigative episode of ‘Capital Talk’ on Geo News Monday night. Investigation was conducted by Hamid Mir who interviewed all those who were present with Benazir Bhutto in her vehicle at the time of attack. 

Hamid Mir also interviewed some key witnesses who were injured by bullets and bomb explosion around BB’s vehicle on December 27, 2007. Benazir Bhutto also wrote an email to an American journalist Wolf Blitzer on October 26, 2007 before her assassination that if she is killed then Musharaf would be held responsible.

Benazir was also aware of the dangers threatening her life as interior ministry had already informed her about such life threats on 12th December 2007. But inspite of all these life threats she continued her election campaign and proclaimed on 26th December, 2007 addressing a public gathering in Peshawar that life should be spent like lions not like jackals.

The trajectory of investigation was based on 12 questions emanating from BB’s killing such as; 1)Why did Benazir come out of the sun roof? 2)Why was there no sufficient security on her return from Liaquat Bagh? 3)Why was her car turned right when it had to go left? 4)Was her death caused by the lever of car or by bullet? 5)Was firing and blast done by one person? 6)Did more than one person fire on BB’s procession? 7)Why was BB’s autopsy not done ? 8)Who ordered to wash the crime scene immediately? 9)Which direction was she fired from left or right? 10)Are the accused arrested in her murder’s case her original killers? 11)What did the government reply her to the letter she wrote to General (R) Musharaf naming three persons responsible for her murder? 12)Why was her last email to Wolf Blitzer not made basis of her murder’s investigation?

Answering the first question as to who asked BB to stand out of sun roof Naheed Khan, BB’s political secretary and Amin Fahim Chairman PPPP who both were with BB in car said that not any one of them had asked BB to do so. ‘No one asked her to stand, she wanted to wave at the crowd as she was very happy that day that’s why she came out of the sun roof’, told Amin Fahim.

While talking about the security that day BB’s Protocol Officer Aslam Chaudhry who was also injured on 27th December revealed that the police had left the place quite earlier. An eye witness Nazir Butt mentioned about the weird attitude of the Police that day. ‘A boy was wandering in the area holding the pistol, but police simply ignored it.’ he said. 

Senator Babar Awan and Amin Fahim also talked about BB’s concern that she expressed on stage for the security about building and tress adjoining Liaquat Bagh.

Ibn-e-Rizvi, the organizer of Liaquat Bagh Procession expressed his astonishment on the change of the route. “BB had to go from left as the route decided by the administration but her car was turned right, I don’t know who ordered the change of route?” wondered Ibn-e-Rizvi. Aslam Chaudhry while talking about the change of route said that the police had blocked the left side which was the decided route on her return from Liaquat Bagh that’s why BB’s vehicle took the right turn.

The eye witnesses gave the opposite view of the cause of BB’s death to the one given by the ministry of interior when the then spokesman Brig (R) Javed Iqbal Cheema said that the lever of BB’s car was the cause of her death. An eye witness Mohammad Akhtar Saeed revealed that first he was fired then BB and he also saw the person who fired.

Raja Riaz and Tariq Saeed, both of whom lost their limbs in 27th December’s tragedy claimed that the blast and firing were carried out by different persons which clarified that the man who fired and caused the blast was not one person but two.

It was also known that the firing was not from one side but from the buildings and plazas surrounding Liaquat Bagh as claimed by Gul Bahadur Khan another eye witness while Ibn-e-Rizvi pointed to a water tank on Liaquat Bagh’s roof where he claimed firing was coming from and targeted BB.

Lt.Gen. (R) Hamid Nawaz, former caretaker minister for interior, told that BB’s husband Asif Zardari asked not to carry out autopsy and he also refuted the claims of eye witnesses about the lack of security that day while giving the details about the security arrangements that day.

‘1300 police infantry was deployed, pass through gates were installed at the entrance, bullet proof rostrum was placed and the police cordoned off the area two days prior to procession,’’ told Hamid Nawaz. While Dr. Mussadiq Khan’s statement on the issue of BB’s autopsy differed with the Hamid Nawaz’s when the former said that the autopsy is done on the request of police.

About washing the crime scene within few hours of murder Dr. Abdul Rehman who was the Emergency officer of Rescue 1122, Rawalpindi on 27 December stated it was washed on the orders of SP Rawal Town Khurram Shahzad. When Khurram Shahzad was approached for his response to Dr. Abdul Rehman’s statement, he declined to do so and so did Former CPO Rawalpindi Saud Aziz.

Senator Safdar Abbasi while talking about the wound said that BB had a wound on the right side not on the left. ‘It may be a bullet of a silencer gun and BB had already fallen before the blast,’ said Safdar Abbasi. Dr. Mussadiq Khan also told in a press conference that BB had a wound on the right side.

About the arrested ones that they are the real killers of BB, Shah Zeb Khan, lawyer of the accused Rasheed Ahmed said that there are no allegations on Rasheed for BB’s murder as he had only met a person named Bilal claimed to be involved for committing suicide attack on BB. 

Naseer Tanoli who is lawyer of Atizaz Shah another accused in BB’s case revealed that Aitzaz’s statement is made the basis of this case who was 19 years old during investigation and it is on his statement that Rafaqat and Husnain the other two accused arrested in BB’s case. But during the case proceedings Aitzaz submitted the application for juvenile trial. ‘Aitzaz Shah is minor and his application for juvenile trial is already accepted,’ said Naseer Tanoli.

While Ibn-e-Rizvi emphatically refuted to see any one of the accused on 27th December.

In reply to the letter that BB wrote to Musharaf on Oct 16th, the joint secretary of interior Mohammad Anwar Khan on November 6 nullified BB’s concern that she expressed about three public holders .Hamid Mir contacted the persons who were named in BB’s letter but only one of them agreed to speak while Chaudhry Pervez Elahi who is also one of the persons named in BB’s letter refused to speak. Lt. Gen. (R) Hameed Gul responded to BB’s letter by claiming that he served legal notice to BB after hearing this and presented himself for investigating even . “Why is Musharaf not being interrogated whom BB mentioned in her last email to Mark Siegel?” he asked.

Wolf Blitzer also invited in his program BB’s long time friend Mark Siegel after BB’s assassination and read out that email he received from BB which stated that Musharaf would be held responsible if she is killed. 

BB had also ended the dialogue with Musharaf as she said in a press conference in Lahore on 16th November 2007 that Musharaf had promised her democracy but imposed Martial law so there by she saw no point to pursue dialogue with a person who says one thing and does the opposite.

Furthermore, BB had also differences with Musharaf over the issue of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry’s restoration.

President Asif Ali Zardari also mentioned about 25 letters that BB’s security advisor Rehman Malik wrote to the government of time about BB’s security. On October 27th Rehman Malik wrote to Secretary Interior Kamal Shah about an attack on BB as informed to him by a friendly country. PPPP Secretary General Raja Pervez Ashraf also wrote a letter on November 22 to secretary interior asking for provision of appropriate security to Benazir. A letter written on 12th by interior ministry to Rehman Malik revealed astounding information telling him about an expected attack on BB. Keeping in mind the security threats to BB, interior ministry on 15th December assured in a letter that there would be adequate security arrangements for BB.

Rehman Malik’s words were not inserted as he refused to speak on camera when contacted by Hamid Mir. President Zardari also confirmed former DG ISI meeting with BB on late night of 26th December a day before her assassination which he said was not about security but about the political scenario of the country specifically in relation to the upcoming elections. While Naheed Khan was unaware of any such meeting between former DG ISI and BB.

The host of the program Hamid Mir revealed in the end that it is not possible to complete investigation without asking questions to General (R) Musharaf but it is learnt that the present government has given assurance to the head of a friendly country that no action against Musharaf will be taken and that is why the new government is depending upon UN to complete investigation of BB’s assassination.