Highlights
– UK anti-terrorism specialists are assisting with the investigation of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto’s assassination
– President Musharraf denies accusations of the government’s involvement in her death and blames Bhutto for her own death
– Political turmoil will likely increase again as the country gears up for the February 2008 election
On January 4, 2008, a team from Britain’s Scotland Yard arrived in Pakistan to help Pakistani authorities investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto . Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has criticized the inquiry because as Bhutto’s top aide, Farooq Naik, stated, “[The inquiry] will work under the patronage of the government. It is going to be a meaningless exercise.”
Although video footage shows a suicide bomber and gunman present, the cause of death has yet to be determined because no autopsy was performed and the doctor attending Bhutto has changed his statement several times.
President Pervez Musharraf has further angered the PPP by blaming Bhutto for her own death. Although the mass riots that broke out in the days following Bhutto’s assassination on December 27, 2007 have subsided, opposition protests will likely increase as the newly scheduled February 18, 2008 elections near.
Scotland Yard’s Return to Pakistan
Scotland Yard has been asked to help in Pakistani investigations twice before the death of Benazir Bhutto; however, both times Pakistani authorities asked them to leave before they completed their investigation. The first instance was concerning the assassination of the first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, who was ironically shot at the same park as Bhutto in 1951. British investigators returned following the murder of Bhutto’s estranged younger brother Murtaza in 1996.
Although the Special Investigation Group (the anti-terror wing from Scotland Yard) has examined and collected a variety of evidence related to the shooting and suicide attack that left Bhutto along with 20 other people dead, many analysts remain doubtful that they will uncover any substantial evidence. Musharraf admitted in an interview with the United States’ CBS News program “60 minutes” that Pakistani investigators may have mishandled crucial evidence in the hours after Bhutto’s death, including hosing down the site hours after the attack.
‘Bhutto to blame’
In the “60 minutes” interview, Musharraf also admitted for the first time that Bhutto may have been shot, contradictory to the interior ministry’s announcement that Bhutto died from a head wound as she ducked for cover. He went on to declare, “For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone, nobody else.”
Musharraf believes his government did everything it could to protect her both when she returned on October 18, 2007 and throughout the following six weeks in Pakistan. He said they offered her a helicopter on her arrival but she refused to accept, choosing instead to drive through a procession that ended in a twin suicide attack . Musharraf also claims Bhutto was the most protected leader in Pakistan but choose to disregard the government’s numerous warnings about her safety.
Inquest Outlook
Many PPP supporters accuse the government of covering up the true cause of Bhutto’s death, saying the contradictory remarks only support their theory that the government was behind the assassination.
On January 8, 2008, investigators announced that the alleged assassin was identified in video footage recovered from the attack. Although the name of the attacker has not been revealed, authorities claim he is from the Swabi district of North West Frontier Province and died in the attack.
While it remains unlikely that British investigators will uncover any new evidence, their presence has already angered several PPP supporters and will fuel greater unrest as the election date nears once again. The PPP announced that they would call on the United Nations (UN) to assist in the inquiry, should they win the elections next month.
However, Musharraf may delay elections again and all the opposition parties anticipate the elections will be rigged when they are carried out. The prolonged period of political instability will further fuel Islamic militant activity, as pro-Taliban and al-Qaeda militants are able to use the deteriorating conditions to improve their capabilities.
