Former president Pervez Musharraf has once again pointed the
finger at PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari as Benazir Bhutto's killer,
arguing that the latter had the most to gain from her death.
In a video response to Bilawal Bhutto's chants of "Musharraf qatil"
at Benazir's death anniversary commemoration at Gari Khuda Bux on Dec
27, Musharraf took the misogynistic route to begin his argument, saying,
"I would like to say to Bilawal, who is raising these slogans like a
woman, that he should first become a man."
"The other
thing I would like to say to him is that saying these things like a
child will lead to nowhere, what is the evidence for it [your
accusation]?" he asked.
"The one who benefited the most
(from Benazir's death) is their father, sitting in their own house, who
terrifies them and forces them into raising these slogans against me,"
Musharraf said, before beginning another tirade about how, in his view, the evidence in the case all points to Zardari as Benazir's killer.
"What
evidence is there against me? You only keep saying that I did not
provide any security (to Benazir), How can you say that? I say that the
government provided 100 per cent security to her and it was not even my
job."
"There was full security, Benazir came to Liaquat
Bagh for two hours and then she passed through the crowd to sit in her
bomb-proof car, which we had provided. How is it that not even a hair
was out of place in the case of the other five people in the car?"
"He
[Zardari] got a fake will written and took over the party. He also
became owner of Benazir's property. He has become so rich (because of
Benazir's death)."
"Now if we examine the evidence, lets
talk about the bomb-proof car that they were provided. Whose idea was it
to cut a hatch on the top of a bomb-proof car?" he asked.
"More
importantly, whose idea was it to call Benazir three times and ask her
to raise herself out of the hatch and wave to the crowd?"
"Then,
who mysteriously took away the phone that Benazir was called on — how
did that phone mysteriously disappear for a year and a half?"
"And
now think about the fact that their interior minister, Rehman Malik,
who was their [Benazir's] security in-charge, fled the scene. How could
he disappear when his duty was with Benazir?" Musharraf asked,
continuing his series of questions.
"And then that other
guy, his [Zardari's] jail-mate, Khalid Shehenshah, who got him
murdered?" he asked, recalling that, even more mysteriously, the
murderer himself was also killed under mysterious circumstances.
Wrapping
up his series of questions, Musharraf said, "All this evidence points
to the same person. It is not enough to just say that I am the killer —
they need to provide evidence against me as well."
"If I
would have done nothing and just sat there, it would have been okay
since these external powers — the superpower, America — did not want me
to leave," Musharraf claimed.
"They wanted me to remain
the president. So [the killing] would not have affected me in any way,
because I had an agreement with Benazir."
According to Musharraf, the reason for Bilawal's allegations is to put him down, as well as to put the army down, indirectly.
"There
is one thing in all of this that makes me happy: it is that these
people are now afraid of me; they are worried I may become too popular,"
Musharraf said.
"I will come to Pakistan at a suitable time soon and I will face their cases too."
In an interview given to BBC
recently, Musharraf had said that during his reign, there may have been
elements within the establishment who conspired with the Taliban to
murder former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. He had added that this was a
hunch, but that he was confident of his assessment.
Bilawal challenges Musharraf to 'come back and stand trial'
A
day after alleging that Musharraf was responsible for the assassination
of his mother, Bilawal levelled more accusations at the former military
dictator, claiming that "he is also responsible for the 2007 Karsaz
bombing as well as the killing of [Baloch nationalist] Akbar Bugti".
"I
have never seen a more cowardly man than Musharraf," Bilawal said while
talking to media at the inauguration of the Sukkur Press Club's new
building.
Bilawal also said he has hopes in Pakistan's judicial system, which has kept him from suing Musharraf in other countries.
"I
could have sued him in Dubai and London too, but doing so would show a
lack of confidence in Pakistani courts," he said. "I am still hopeful
that I will get justice from these [Pakistani] courts. I appeal to these
courts to give me and my family justice."
