Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto fell victim to deep-rooted
animosity of conservative right-wing forces in and outside the country against
liberal PPP and its leadership.
The coup d’état by Gen
Zia put him at the helm of affairs and through his dictatorial regime he had the
sole agenda of destroying the party and its leadership and his attempt of
introduction of Islamic reforms in the country was basically to win over the
support of religious parties against the PPP.
The patronage of
military dictator Gen Ziaul Haq helped the conservative right wing religious
groups nourished, taste flavour of money and power thus penetrating in the
society with a clear agenda of enforcing their brand of Islam.
Gen Zia, through these
religious groups demonised and discredited the leadership of the party by
building and propagating a narrative that the PPP leadership is anti-Islam by
describing its slogan “Roti, Kapra & Makan” as un-Islamic and pro-Western
based on its ideology of empowerment of every citizen of Pakistan especially women.
The religious fanatics
were instigated against Benazir Bhutto with propagandas at all levels. I
remember having investigated a murder attempt on Benazir when I was FIA
director and during the course of investigation I found that one of the
conspirators in his first attempt, on the life of Benazir in Karachi stated
that the leadership of al-Qaeda was against Benazir Bhutto because; “she was a
woman and she had no right to rule an Islamic country; she was a Shia and that
she was pro-West”. Lately, one of the accused of October 27, 2007 incident had,
once interviewed/interrogated him inside the jail by one of the members of the
JIT, reiterated the same ideology vis-à-vis Benazir Bhutto justifying her
assassination.
This speaks
voluminously as to how much the religious militants had been against the
personality of Benazir Bhutto. I along with my team interrogated Yousaf Ramzi,
who reinforced his statement and proudly stated that it is true that we wanted
to eliminate BB. He made a bomb to blow her up in a flat near a lighthouse. It
would be pertinent to mention that Benazir Bhutto Shaheed had been the
continuous target of the terrorists prior to the last fateful incident. The
series of attempts on her life are indicative of the fact that vested interests
/al-Qaeda were bent upon eliminating her since her emergence on the horizon of
politics of Pakistan. The summary of the earlier attempts is mentioned below to
understand the mindset of the hostile elements and al-Qaeda and its
associates.
The first
assassination attempt was carried out near Bilawal House in 1995. Fazlullah
Hamdi at Abu Talha resident of Panjgur, Balochistan, was arrested by the then
Frontier Police (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for links with terrorists had
disclosed that Yousaf Ramzi, Capt Abdul Hakim alias Majid and others had
planned assassination of Benazir prior to 1993 elections. The planning to
murder Benazir included planting a bomb in a gutter near Bilawal House.
However, this could not be carried out as Yousaf Ramzi got injured at his flat
in Karachi while making the bomb. Ramzi, consequently, remained under treatment
in a hospital under fake name and got discharged before police could reach
him.
The second
assassination attempt was in 1993. Subsequently, Abdul Shakoor, a staunch
affiliate of Sipah-e-Sahaba, and a close associate of Yousaf Ramzi was arrested
by Peshawar Police for carrying ammunition to Karachi by train confirmed about
two assassination attempts conspired and planned by Yousaf Ramzi, Capt Abdul
Hakim alias Majid and Munir Ibrahim including himself. According to Abdul
Shakoor, Osama bin Laden had pumped a lot of money to religious parties in
Pakistan for this purpose. Munir Ibrahim whereby was the paymaster on behalf of
Osama bin Laden.
Third assassination
attempt was carried out on October 18, 2007 when Benazir arrived in Karachi
from Dubai to lead the party in the coming general elections and was heading
towards Mazar-e-Quaid, when two powerful bombs exploded in close proximity of
her truck where I was present and barely survived but that burnt her hair and
she also sustained burn injuries. It was another fresh attempt on her life but
fortunately she remained safe but hundreds of her supporters gave their lives
on October 18. The crime scene washed and FIR hardily registered not by the
victim but the state. Basic right of registration of FIR was denied to
Benazir.
This attempt was in
furtherance of a threat by Baitullah Mehsud, when he had warned that she would
be welcomed with garland of bombs. It is a matter of public record. A senator
from Fata from Mehsud tribe is a witness to this statement of Baitullah Mehsud.
Having been able to penetrate in the procession of October 18, 2007, the
terrorists became encouraged to undertake another assassination attempt on
Benazir. On December 12, 2007, one of the terrorists was able to touch the
vehicle of BB after a PPP workers’ gathering at Pabbi. They noted that the
security after public meetings becomes lax and Benazir always came out of the
sunroof of the vehicle to wave to the workers. Subsequent tracking of the
movements of the terrorist groups through call record data analysis indicated
the presence of Ibad-ur-Rehman, a hardcore militant, in Nowshera, on that day
who had later been found involved in the planning and execution of plan of
assassination of Benazir on December 27, 2007 at Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi.
The same terrorist
group kept on chasing Benazir and conspired and planned assassination attempt
on her at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar, after public meeting on December 26,
2007. I was present with Mohtarma when we were told by the police that a bomber
with a jacket was spotted, who wanted to explode on Benazir.
I demanded the report
on it from the NWFP police but they gave no response. We pursued and found out
during our own government that Abdullah Saeed (long-necked), Bilal and
Ikramullah were the suicide bombers; Nasarullah, a student of Darul Aloom
Haqqania, along with two others were the handlers. The plan could not be
executed because of the strict security arrangements. In Peshawar, a SP and
four DSPs were deputed for the close cordon protection of Benazir as compared
to only one ASP at Rawalpindi on 27.12.07.
After various failed
attempts the terrorists /anti-MBB finally managed to target Benazir on December
27, 2007 in Rawalpindi after a well-coordinated and organised attack through
three successive gunshots followed by suicide bomb blast in close proximity of
her vehicle. As a result, she succumbed to her head injuries besides killing of
23 party workers and 70 people sustaining injuries. It happened that the same
terrorist group headed by Ibadur Rehman with Bilal Shah (who exploded himself)
and Ikram bomber were the key players to kill her.
The investigation by
FIA had revealed that the conspiracy was hatched by five former students of
Madrassa Haqqania, Akora Khattak, namely Nadir Qari Ismail, Nasarullah,
Abdullah Saddam and Faiz Muhammad Kiskat at their hostel room. Their
credentials were later confirmed through the record of the madrassa. It is also
part of the investigation that Baitullah Mehsud had provided the suicide
bombers money to carry out the plot to assassinate Benazir. Baitullah Mehsud
fulfilled his claim to kill her with his men with the local support of anti-PPP
elements. The police had arrested accused Hasnain Gul and Muhammad Rafaqat on
January 5, 2008. They subsequently made confessional statement under Section
164 CrPC before a magistrate, disclosing having picked up accused Nasarullah
and two suicide bombers namely Bilal and Ikramullah from Daewoo terminal
Rawalpindi on December 26, 2007; providing shelter to them at the house of
accused Rafaqat Hussain; having carrying out reconnaissance of Liaqat Bagh on
December 27, 2007 and bringing both the suicide bombers to the crime scene for
suicide attack on Benazir. Graphic forensic mobile phone confirms the
interconnection and presence on the scene. The subsequent call record and RBS
locations analysis had corroborated the confessional statements of both the
accused Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat Hussain.
The police had also
arrested Aitzaz Shah, Saifullah, Sher Zaman and Rashid Ahmed and Abdul Rahim
Turabi for being privy to and having the knowledge of the conspiracy. The
police had also declared six planners and conspirators as proclaimed offenders
who were later found killed either by drone attacks or by the security forces
in different areas of Fata.
Ibadur Rehman, an
ex-student of Madrassa Haqqania, who had allegedly provided suicide bombers to
accused Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat Hussain through accused Nasarullah, was
reportedly killed in Tirah, Khyber Agency, in a drone attack on 13.5.10 when
FIA was chasing to arrest him including 14 other militants including
foreigners. Interestingly, it was the only drone attack in Khyber Agency.
Abdullah Saddam, the
ex-student of Madrassa Haqqania, Akora Khattak, allegedly involved in the
planning, taking suicide bombers from Baitullah along Nadir Qari Ismail and
transportation of suicide vests, were killed in Mamad Gatt, Mohmand Agency in
an explosion on 31.5.08 and in Mohmand Agency on 15.1.08, respectively.
Similarly, Nasrullah
Ahmed r/o Madrassa Haqqania, Akora Khattak, who had been focal person in
Rawalpindi, took two suicide bombers Saeed Bilal and Ikramullah from Baitullah
Mehsud, carried out reconnaissance of the place of occurrence, and was also
killed in Mohmand Agency on 15.1.08.
The other two
proclaimed offenders namely Faiz Muhammad Kiskat, ex-student Madrassa Haqqania,
and Ikramullah, the second suicide bomber had, however, vanished from the face
of the earth.
The above
chronological events are clear manifestation of the persistence chase by
al-Qaeda, its affiliated groups and other extremist groups of the country for
Benazir. These groups also had the patronage of the protégés of Gen Zia. Mian
Nawaz Sharif, one of the ideological disciples, had been one of the fiercest
enemy - not political but personal – of Benazir Bhutto.
The washing of the
crime scene just after one hour and forty minutes without any logical and
rationale justification resulted in the loss of opportunity to collect vital
forensic evidence from the crime scene. The washing of crime scene and earlier
withdrawing of security contingent from the place of public meeting is clearly
indicative of local and internal support to the terrorists.
The avoidance of
former president Pervez Musharraf to face BB murder trial is leaving a big
question mark? Again the murder of a prosecutor Ch Zulfiqar was another attempt
to thwart the trial and it is confirmed he was killed by al-Qaeda related
family where Khalid Shaikh 2nd in command of al-Qaeda was recovered by IB and
now undergoing imprisonment with his nephew Yousaf Ramzi, who tried the first
murder attempt on Benazir with the assistance of Capt Abdul Hakeem from
Karachi.
In 1989, a
no-confidence move was hatched against the Benazir government at the behest of
the Establishment and out of his hatred and aspirations to become the prime
minister, Nawaz Sharif had joined hands with it. Reportedly, he had earlier
been able to establish his contacts with Osama bin Laden, who financed the
first no confidence move against the BB government through late Khalid Khawaja
through an undertaking that he would like to see the introduction of Islamic
system in Pakistan.
In 1988, Gen Hameed
Gul, the then DG/ISI had played a major role in forging a right-wing
conservative alliance against the government of Benazir. Initially Maulana
Samiul Haq was announced the president of IJI but later the leadership of IJI
was handed over to Nawaz, who was representing the PML and was vying to control
the religious and other parties against Benazir.
In the background,
Nawaz was fully helped by then Establishment, which is matter of record and
this is how he was favoured by the Establishment to contest 1990 elections
against Benazir. In the background of Soviet war, the militant group like LeJ
and SSP remained against Benazir. SSP and al-Qaeda became very close and both
al-Qaeda and LeJ started terrorist acts throughout the country.
The assassination of
Benazir Bhutto is a culmination of animosity of al-Qaeda aligned terrorists
against a woman and Shi’ites and power hungry conservative right wing elements
in the country. The above failed attempts are strong indicators as to how
inimical and determined al-Qaeda was against Benazir.
The attack on Benazir
was organised/conspired at Miramshah by Baitullah Mehsud and Al-Misri from
al-Qaeda and here are the details how it was executed through these five
confirmed al- Qaeda members duly and their affiliation and links with al-Qaeda
was further confirmed when Mullah Mansoor demanded the release of these accused
terrorists through Taliban -government dialogue in Murree.
The history will never
allow condoning these five terrorists with such irrefutable evidence. Scraping
the investigation/evidence based on purely technical grounds shall neither be
accepted by the party and nor the people of Pakistan. This case was almost
closed by the Punjab government and it was the PPP government, which further
investigated it by transferring the case from Punjab to FIA. Further
investigation was conducted under the supervision of highly credible officer
DIG Tariq Khosa and subsequently by additional DIG Khalid Qureshi assisted by a
team of FIA officers and representatives from intelligence agencies.
The team of abovementioned
officers is known for their integrity. They recorded my statement under Section
161 CrPC besides others namely Naheed Khan, Safdar Abbasi, Farhatullah Babar,
Gen Tauqir, driver of the vehicle and Abdul Razzaq; examined the blackberry of
Benazir Bhutto; examined Gen Musharraf, police officer on duty, Punjab JIT
members, in-laws of accused Ibadur Rehman; carried out forensic analysis of
call record data; got DNA of head of suicide bomber Bilal with the joggers and
clothes recovered from the house of Rafaqat, who, in fact, had brought Bilal
the second suicide bomber, from Daewoo Adda from Akora Khattak to
Rawalpindi.
It is thus clear that
finally al-Qaeda had managed to kill Benazir with local support and she lost
her struggle against the terrorists/extremists/dictators. We, PPP workers, will
continue our struggle till her murderers are hanged. No doubt these elements
are still powerful and had links in the corridors of power and can manage their
way using terror as weapon but how long? The evidence on record not only will
continue to haunt them but the law of nature will bring them to justice.
The article has been published in ‘The news international’ on
September 07, 2017
