Daily Times

The unfortunate remarks of former President General Musharraf accusing Asif Ali Zardari of involvement in the murders of Benazir and Murtaza Bhutto have led to a distasteful public slanging match. The allegations confound the real issue here: Why is our criminal justice system so dysfunctional that it remains oblivious to the two investigation reports completed by Scotland Yard and the United Nations? Both these reports did not find any evidence of Asif Ali Zardari’s involvement in the murder of Benazir Bhutto. The UN commission’s report even went into this popular conspiracy theory and could not find any evidence for it. An earlier judicial commission in the 1990s exonerated Zardari of any involvement in Murtaza Bhutto’s murder.

Musharraf’s latest antic is nothing short of a desperate attempt to deflect the attention from calls for accountability that are becoming louder despite a controlled media narratives. The truth is that General Musharraf was at the helm and Benazir’s murder took place under his watch. If nothing else, he needs to be questioned for not providing adequate security to Benazir despite her repeated requests. For too long we have ignored such lapses. At the very least the state records need to be examined as to why Benazir — twice elected Prime minister — was treated in such an abysmal manner. Musharraf cannot escape this hard truth.

The trial that followed Benazir’s murder was botched up and all sides must share the blame. The investigations and prosecutions were mismanaged. Witnesses did not show up, judges were frequently transferred, the leading prosecutor was murdered in broad daylight and Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for that. The executive and the judiciary both share responsibility for these lapses. The recent verdict has exonerated the five suspects accused of direct involvement in the plot to murder Benazir; and the verdict sheds little light on how and why were they implicated.

The UN inquiry Commission had identified the intricate web of the establishment and its networks that were involved in events leading to Benazir’s murder. The police officials who have been convicted in the recent verdict were surely not acting on their own. This is what neither Musharraf nor PPP-phobic sections of media would like to state.

The hard reality is that Musharraf has been declared an absconder in Benazir’s case; and Zardari does not face similar charges. It’s a separate matter what exactly is Musharraf accused of in this case. The proceedings have been tainted by politics and Pakistan’s governance culture. There are serious questions for the PPP to confront as well. Starting from the questions about the conduct of Babar Awan and Rehman Malik to its lackadaisical approach to Benazir’s trial, there is much that the party needs to answer. Yet, the ultimate responsibility for security of Benazir Bhutto was that of the state and Musharraf as the head of the state cannot absolve himself of accountability in this regard. Regurgitating conspiracy theories popularised by well-known propaganda machinery will not work if Pakistan seeks to become a modern, democratic country with a functional justice system.  *

Published in Daily Times, September 24^th 2017.