LAHORE – An accused in the murder case of former prime minister BenazirBhutto who was last year acquitted by a Pakistan court, is said to bemissing from the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, The Express Tribune reportedon Tuesday. Rafaqat Hussain had been holed up in the jail even after theverdict from the court last year.
According to the report, Hussain’s father filed a plea in the Lahore HighCourt (LHC) and claimed his son had gone missing from the prison. Heclaimed that his son was acquitted in the case, but was still beingdetained. The court has accepted the plea and directed the Police to submita reply in the matter on July 16.ADVERTISEMENT
In August 2017, nearly 10 years after the assassination of Bhutto, thecourt had acquitted five suspects affiliated to the Tehreek-e-Taliban–Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah, and Abdul Rashid. Itconvicted two police officials, Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad, for notmaking proper security arrangements for Benazir at Liaquat Bagh and notsecuring the crime scene to protect evidence after the assassination.
Immediately after the killing, then president Parvez Musharraf announcedthat it had been ordered by the then leader of TTP Beithullah Mehsud(subsequently killed in a US drone attack in south Waziristan). The PPPrejected the theory, saying Musharraf had pre-empted an investigation, andthat his statement was intended to cover up a possible involvement by theintelligence agencies.