Musharraf’s statement riddled with self-contradictions

ISLAMABAD: Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf triggered a national level debate when he alleged that the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari had masterminded the murders of Benazir Bhutto and her brother Mir Murtaza Bhutto.

Musharraf quickly rose to his defence when the finger was pointed at him for the murder of Ms Bhutto. Mincing no words, he said Zardari and some powerful elements in Afghanistan (Hamid Karzai and TTP leader Baitullah Mehsood) were behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The PPP leader was martyred in a gun and bomb attack at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007 while leaving the venue after addressing a rally.

Musharraf appeared to be clear in his statements, but he may not have realised that it was riddled with self-contradictions, negating his own claims. The plain and simple fact is that being the  president  at that time he cannot absolve himself of his responsibilities.

First of all, if he was aware of these facts, why did he seal his lips on an the issue of such an importance and never offered help to the investigating agencies, the Interpol and even the United Nations Commission? He should have come forth to help them find the truth.

If he had such strong evidences available with him about the direct involvement of Asif Ali Zardari, Hamid Karzai, Baitullah Mehsood and others, why didn’t he provide that information to all those investigating teams and commissions? Was he hand in glove with Zardari in the assassination of Ms Bhutto, which compelled him to keep quiet?

As the head of the state, it was his responsibility to provide foolproof security not only to Benazir Bhutto, but also to all other politicians  campaigning for the upcoming election at that time. He cannot absolve himself by passing the buck on to the lower administrative ranks. Again, he cannot absolve himself of his responsibilities!

When the then ISI chief Lt-Gen Nadeem Taj had a secret late night meeting with Ms Bhutto, advising her against addressing the public rally the next day because there were strong evidences available about a possible assassination attempt on her, why he could not convince the PPP leader with available evidence(s) about the possible assassination attempt, preventing her from going to the public rally? When the government  realised that Ms Bhutto was not going to budge, what kept it from taking extraordinary steps for her safety?

Who and why the exit route of Ms Bhutto was changed without intimating the PPP leadership after the conclusion of rally, causing confusion and a lethal delay in the smooth departure of the convoy when she boarded the bomb-proof vehicle? The state was responsible and as head of the state Musharraf can’t absolve himself of his responsibilities.

Why post-mortem was not conducted to ascertain the exact cause of her death and why the ‘roof-latch’ controversy was fed to the media? How Asif Zardari could have opposed post-mortem while he was already on his way to Islamabad and was air-borne? By the time he landed at the Islamabad airport, the coffin of Ms Bhutto was ready for transportation to Larkana. It was the responsibility of the state to conduct post-mortem and the decision could not have been left to the heirs of the deceased.

Why an ISI official remained on the sides of medical team, handling Ms Bhutto’s body, headed by Dr Musaddiq?Why the crime scene was hurriedly washed giving no time to the forensic experts to collect important evidences? The crime scene was also washed soon after the assassination of Mir Murtaza Bhutto.

There are at least 10 insertions in the report submitted by the UN special commission (to investigate the murder) where it has hinted at the involvement of state in the assassination of Ms Bhutto. Why all these years, after the submission of the UN Commission report, no steps were taken to investigate the 10 points indicated in the report?

Finally, what caused Pervez Musharraf to come out with such bold and blunt accusations against Asif Ali Zardari and his internal and foreign conspiratorial friends for being behind Benazir Bhutto’s assassination? Could he be trying to trigger another controversy to help the two police officers sentenced by the court to 17-year prison term each?