Benazir murder case: SC dismisses petition seeking bail cancellation of suspects

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Published: October 5, 2018
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PHOTO: AFP
PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking cancellation of bail granted to two accused in the Benazir Bhutto murder case, police officers Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad.
Aziz, who was the police chief of Rawalpindi when Bhutto was assassinated in 2007, and Khurram Shahzad, a former Superintendent of Police (SP) at Rawal Town, had been sentenced to 17 years in jail for negligence in arranging security which subsequently led to the assassination of the former prime minister.
No occasion has been found to interfere in LHC Rawalpindi Bench August 2017 order to grant bail, said the order passed by the two-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
Anti-terrorism legislation bar suspects in terrorism cases from receiving bail, stated lawyer Latif Khosa while arguing on behalf of the petitioner. Khosa further argued that granting bail was not in accordance with the law.
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto lamented that the verdict by the trial court did not declare former military ruler Pervez Musharraf a convict and acquitted the facilitators and abettors of the attack.
“The security cordon provided to Benazir was pulled back by the police officers, making her an easy target,” said Bilawal and added he would continue to pursue the case till the Bhutto family gets the justice it deserves.
The widow of a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) worker challenged the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) earlier order granting bail to the two police officials who were convicted by a trial court in the Benazir Bhutto murder case in 2017.
Khosa had filed a petition in the apex court on behalf of Rashida Bibi – widow of Benazir’s security guard Akram Kaira, who had also died in the 2007 Liaqat National Bagh blast.
The petition contended that the high court did not examine the facts before granting bail to Aziz and Shahzad, adding that the release of the police officers was against the law and based on ill intentions.
It also said that both the officers retained their jobs in the police force despite being nominated in the case, which dragged on for 10 years. It also accused the two of exploiting their official position.
The petitioner had requested the apex court to suspend the LHC’s decision, and cancel the bail granted to the two accused persons.

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