Musharraf dubs Bhutto arrest warrant ridiculous

Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has said he will not give himself up after an anti-terrorism court issued an arrest warrant over the assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Reuters/Luke MacGregor

Fawad Chaudhry, a spokespserson for Musharraf who at present lives in London, declared the warrant “totally ridiculous”.

The court on Saturday ordered Musharraf to appear on 19 February after a report said that he was part of a “broad consipiracy”, which also involved two police officials and “terrorists”, according to public prosecutors.

Musharraf was president when Bhutto was killed in 2007 in Rawalpindi.

Police arrested Saud Aziz, who was city police chief at the time, and another senior police officer, Khurram Shahzad, in December for alleged dereliction of duty in connection to the assassination.

Bhutto, who had returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile shortly before her death, was killed after addressing an election campaign rally in the garrison city, near the capital Islamabad, on 27 December 2007.

Musharraf’s government blamed the assassination on Pakistan’s Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who denied any involvement.

Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, is current president of Pakistan.