Permanent arrest warrant for Musharraf issuedPermanent arrest warrant for Musharraf issued

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, June 11, IRNA -- An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan Saturday issued a fresh warrant for the arrest of the former President, Pervez Musharraf, in connection with the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, court officials said.

The court has also taken steps towards confiscating his property and other assets.

Musharraf is wanted in connection with the assassination of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in 2007.

Mr Musharraf, who lives in London, denies allegations that he failed to share intelligence about Taliban plans to murder Ms Bhutto and that he failed to provide adequate security.

Last month the Court declared Musharraf proclaimed offender after investigators told the court that he had refused to cooperate in the probe and also named him as an 'accused'.

A chargesheet filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the court in Rawalpindi said Musharraf, who was President at the time of the assassination, had refused a request to cooperate in the investigation into Bhutto's death.

The Judge Rana Nisar Ahmad on the last hearing asked the investigators to publish advertisements in three major Pakistani newspapers, asking Pervez Musharraf to appear in the court.

Legal experts say that the FIA can also approach the court for confiscation of Musharraf’s property after he failed to appear in the court.

The anti-terrorism court is conducting the trial of five terror suspects, including alleged members of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, who have been charged with planning and facilitating the assassination.

Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber shortly after she addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

The court warrant for Musharraf is the latest in a long list of legal and criminal cases against the former military ruler, who resigned in August 2008, and it could cause problems for his planned return to Pakistani politics.

Musharraf, who has been living in self-exile in Britain since April 2009, has said that he intends to return to Pakistan before the next general election in 2013. He has also formed a new party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, with an eye to the next polls.

A UN Commission which probed Bhutto's assassination had held Musharraf responsible for failing to provide adequate security to the former premier after her return to Pakistan from self-exile in October 2007.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30426986