Karachi, December 30: Pakistan’s ex-President Pervez Musharraf denies responsibility for the assassination of former Premier Benazir Bhutto, insisting he will not appear before an inquiry commission probing the terror effort.
“It was not my responsibility to provide security to Benazir Bhutto; who told her to come out of the roof top of her vehicle?” Musharraf said in an interview with a local TV channel late Wednesday.
He said that the president was not supposed to provide security for anyone.
“I feel bad when the security agencies are being accused of having a hand in BB’s murder; they did nothing of this sort,” he added.
He said that he would not appear before any court or commission set up to probe into her assassination.
Bhutto was killed in a gun-and-bomb attack in December 2007 as she was leaving an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
A gunman reportedly shot her in the neck and set off a bomb. At least 20 other people died in the attack and several more were injured.
President Asif Ali Zardari, who won the presidency after Bhutto’s death, has pointed the finger of blame at the then government of General Pervez Musharraf and threatened to take action against the former military ruler.
A UN report issued in April has also blamed the then government of Musharraf for failing to provide adequate security protection for the former premier.
The 65-page report describes the police’s behavior as “deeply flawed” and states that the murder could have been prevented if adequate measures were taken.
It also accused police and intelligence officials of hampering investigations into her death.
——–Agencies