Benazir Bhutto’s assassination remains a mystery 17 years later
Last Updated on December 30, 2024 6:18 am
Despite legal trials, investigations and confessions, the real killers of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto have still not been caught. Even after 17 years, her assassination remains a mystery.
Pakistan’s first female Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was shot and killed in a bomb attack on December 27, 2007, while leaving a rally in Rawalpindi. The full mystery of her death is still unknown even after 17 years.
During this long period, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has failed to provide accurate information to the public about the assassination despite being in power for three terms.
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, former President General Pervez Musharraf, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) founder Baitullah Mehsud, and police officers Saud Aziz and Khurram Shehzad have been accused of killing Benazir at various times.
In 2017, an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi sentenced Saud Aziz and Khurram Shehzad to 17 years in prison for destruction of evidence and negligence. However, five suspects were acquitted after nearly 300 hearings.
Scotland Yard and a UN commission of inquiry have pointed the finger at some Pakistani military officials, but the PPP government has objected to the UN report through its own investigation.
The main suspects, Baitullah Mehsud and Osama bin Laden, were later killed in drone strikes and military operations. There was also no evidence against General Pervez Musharraf.
Although TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud has admitted in his book that his group was responsible for Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, he has not given any information about who ordered the assassination or the conspiracy behind it.
The investigation into Benazir Bhutto’s assassination has effectively been closed. An appeal to convict the police officers is still pending. And evidence of the real perpetrators has never been presented in court.
The unresolved question of the killings has left a deep void in Pakistan’s efforts for justice and accountability. Source: Geo News