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Today's Paper | November 15, 2024

Updated 21 Aug, 2017 03:42pm

ATC to hear Benazir murder case on daily basis from tomorrow

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Monday decided to hear the Benazir Bhutto murder case on daily basis.

The last witness in the case recorded his testimony during Monday's hearing; the discussion on the case will start from Tuesday (tomorrow). Special public prosecutors Chaudhary Azhar and Khawaja Imtiaz will resume presenting their final arguments.

Former CPO Rawalpindi Saud Aziz and former SP Khurram Shahzad, who are currently on bail as they were accused in the case, and FIA Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar appeared before the ATC on Monday.

ATC Judge Mohammad Asghar Khan postponed the hearing of the case until Tuesday.

Rawalpindi City police station SHO Kashif Riaz on behalf of the state had filed FIR 471/2007 on Dec 27, 2007, against unknown culprits for the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Eight different judges have headed the Benazir Bhutto murder trial and the prosecution has filed eight separate challans since the proceeding started on February 29, 2008.

The four men — Abdul Rasheed, Aitzaz Shah, Rafaqat Hussain and Hasnain Gul — accused of being involved in the 2007 suicide blast that caused the death of PPP chairperson and 20 other people have also been arrested.

When the PPP formed its government in the centre in 2008, the investigation was transferred to the FIA.

The team implicated former president retired General Pervaiz Musharraf and two senior police officers Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad as accused in the case in 2010. Later, the court decided to prosecute Musharraf separately as he failed to appear before the court.

A public prosecutor in the case, Chaudhary Zulfiqar, was murdered when he was on his way to appear before the court for a hearing of the same case in 2013.

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