RAWALPINDI, Jan 10: A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued notices to two police officers arrested in Benazir Bhutto assassination case to respond to a petition filed by prosecution seeking their physical custody.

Justice Rauf Ahmed Sheikh and Justice Mamoon Rasheed Sheikh of the LHC's Rawalpindi bench, after giving preliminary hearing to the application of the prosecution, directed the lawyers of former Rawalpindi city police officer Saud Aziz and SP Khurram Shahzad to appear in the court on January 13.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in its criminal revision application challenged the December 29, 2010 decision of the trial court denying them further custody of the two police officers for interrogation.

FIA submitted before the Lahore High Court that they wanted to recover the mobile hand sets that were in use of the two police officers on December 27, 2007 as they had deceitfully submitted their sets made in 2009.

The forensic examination of their mobile sets is required to collect the numbers with whom they made contacts on the tragic day. It would help the investigators reach the actual people behind the assassination of PPP chairperson, the prosecution lawyers maintained before the LHC.

The two police officers are accused of abetting the murder and helping the killers, the prosecutors said.