P
Patriot Games
Guest
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318933,00.html
Bhutto Aides Accuse Pakistani Government of Cover-Up, Doubt Al Qaeda
Involvement in Assassination
Saturday, December 29, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - An Islamic militant group said Saturday it had no
link to Benazir Bhutto's killing, dismissing government claims that its
leader orchestrated the assassination.
Bhutto's aides also said they doubted militant commander Baitullah Mehsud
was behind the attack on the opposition leader and accused the government of
a cover-up.
Meanwhile, thousands of Bhutto supporters rioted in the garrison city of
Rawalpindi near the capital after prayers for the slain leader, smashing
property and clashing with police who fired tear gas to try and subdue the
crowd.
PHOTOS:
Pakistan Mourns - http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2978,00.html
Aftermath - http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2977,00.html
Bhutto - http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2974,00.html
The Attack (WARNING: GRAPHIC) -
http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2975,00.html
FOX Facts: Benazir Bhutto -
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318525,00.html
Also Saturday, Pakistan's election commission called an emergency meeting
for Monday to discuss the violence's impact on Jan. 8 parliamentary
elections.
Nine election offices in Bhutto's home province of Sindh in the south were
burned to the ground, along with voter rolls and ballot boxes, the
commission said in a statement. The violence also hampered the printing of
ballot papers, training of poll workers and other pre-election logistics,
the statement said.
The U.S. government, which sees nuclear-armed Pakistan as a crucial ally in
the war on terror, has pushed President Pervez Musharraf to keep the
election on track to promote stability, moderation and democracy in
Pakistan, U.S. officials said.
Bush: Assassins 'Must Be Brought to Justice'
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318528,00.html
2 U.S. Lawmakers Advised by State Department to Leave Pakistan, Were to Meet
Bhutto
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318611,00.html
Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro said Friday the government had no
immediate plans to postpone the election, despite the violence and the
decision by Nawaz Sharif, another opposition leader, to boycott the poll.
Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party also called a meeting Sunday to decide
whether to participate in the vote. Her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, told the
British Broadcasting Corp. that their son would read a message left by
Bhutto and addressed to the party in event of her death.
On Saturday, roads across Bhutto's southern Sindh province were littered
with burning vehicles, smoking reminders of the continuing chaos since her
assassination Thursday. Factories, stores and restaurants were set ablaze in
Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, where 17 people have been killed and
dozens injured, officials said.
FOX411: Bhutto's Last Words
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318607,00.html
Amy Kellogg: Remembering Benazir Bhutto -
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318608,00.html
Pakistanis in U.S. Fear for Safety of Family in Homeland
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318667,00.html
TIMES OF LONDON: Who Killed Bhutto? - The Main Suspects
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3100052.ece
Army, police and paramilitary troops patrolled the nearly deserted streets
of Bhutto's home city of Larkana, where rioting left shops at a jewelry
market smoldering.
Sharif led a 47-member delegation of other opposition leaders to meet with
Bhutto's family to express condolences, said Sadiq ul-Farooq, spokesman for
Sharif's party.
Musharraf called Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, promising to make every
effort to bring the attackers to justice, state-run Pakistan Television
reported.
The government blamed Bhutto's killing on al-Qaida and Taliban militants
operating with increasing impunity in the lawless tribal areas along the
border with Afghanistan. It released a transcript Friday of a purported
conversation between Mehsud and another militant, apparently discussing the
assassination.
Click here to read the transcript of the conversation:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318787,00.html
"It was a spectacular job. They were very brave boys who killed her," Mehsud
said, according to the transcript.
Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema described Mehsud as an
al-Qaida leader who was also behind the Karachi bomb blast in October
against Bhutto that killed more than 140 people.
But a spokesman for Mehsud, Maulana Mohammed Umer, denied the militant was
involved in the attack and dismissed the allegations as "government
propaganda."
"We strongly deny it. Baitullah Mehsud is not involved in the killing of
Benazir Bhutto," he said in a telephone call he made to The Associated Press
from the tribal region of South Waziristan.
"The fact is that we are only against America, and we don't consider
political leaders of Pakistan our enemy," he said, adding that he was
speaking on instructions from Mehsud.
Mehsud heads Tehrik-i-Taliban, a newly formed coalition of Islamic militants
committed to waging holy war against the government, which is a key U.S.
ally in its war on terror.
Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party accused the government of trying to frame
Mehsud, saying the militant - through emissaries - had previously told
Bhutto he was not involved in the Karachi bombing.
"The story that al-Qaida or Baitullah Mehsud did it appears to us to be a
planted story, an incorrect story, because they want to divert the
attention," said Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Bhutto's party.
After the Karachi attack, Bhutto accused elements in the ruling
pro-Musharraf party of plotting to kill her. The government denied the
claims. Babar said Bhutto's allegations were never investigated.
Bhutto was killed Thursday evening when a suicide attacker shot at her and
then blew himself up as she left a rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi
near Islamabad. The attack killed about 20 others as well. Authorities
initially said she died from bullet wounds, and a surgeon who treated her
said the impact from shrapnel on her skull killed her.
But Cheema said she was killed when she tried to duck back into the armored
vehicle during the attack, and the shock waves from the blast smashed her
head into a lever attached to the sunroof, fracturing her skull, he said.
The government said it was forming two inquiries into Bhutto's death, one to
be carried out by a high court judge and another by security forces.
On Saturday, about half a dozen police investigators were still sifting
through evidence and taking measurements at the scene of the attack. More
than a dozen officers diverted traffic and provided security for the
investigators.
Mobs continued to wreak havoc across the country for a third day. Business
centers, gas stations and schools were closed and many roads were deserted.
Rioters in Karachi set fire to three factories, a restaurant, two shops and
several vehicles, said Ehtisham Uddin, a local fire official. Doctors at
hospitals in the city said 26 people were wounded overnight by gunshots,
many of them fired by protesters.
Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi said 17 people were killed in the city in
the violence and other officials said dozens were injured. Police arrested
250 people, Farooqi said. More than two dozen people have been killed
nationwide, officials said.
Attackers opened fire at a motorcade of Bhutto's supporters as they headed
back to Karachi after her funeral, killing one man and wounding two others,
said Waqar Mehdi, a spokesman for Bhutto's party.
Bhutto Aides Accuse Pakistani Government of Cover-Up, Doubt Al Qaeda
Involvement in Assassination
Saturday, December 29, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - An Islamic militant group said Saturday it had no
link to Benazir Bhutto's killing, dismissing government claims that its
leader orchestrated the assassination.
Bhutto's aides also said they doubted militant commander Baitullah Mehsud
was behind the attack on the opposition leader and accused the government of
a cover-up.
Meanwhile, thousands of Bhutto supporters rioted in the garrison city of
Rawalpindi near the capital after prayers for the slain leader, smashing
property and clashing with police who fired tear gas to try and subdue the
crowd.
PHOTOS:
Pakistan Mourns - http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2978,00.html
Aftermath - http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2977,00.html
Bhutto - http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2974,00.html
The Attack (WARNING: GRAPHIC) -
http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,2975,00.html
FOX Facts: Benazir Bhutto -
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318525,00.html
Also Saturday, Pakistan's election commission called an emergency meeting
for Monday to discuss the violence's impact on Jan. 8 parliamentary
elections.
Nine election offices in Bhutto's home province of Sindh in the south were
burned to the ground, along with voter rolls and ballot boxes, the
commission said in a statement. The violence also hampered the printing of
ballot papers, training of poll workers and other pre-election logistics,
the statement said.
The U.S. government, which sees nuclear-armed Pakistan as a crucial ally in
the war on terror, has pushed President Pervez Musharraf to keep the
election on track to promote stability, moderation and democracy in
Pakistan, U.S. officials said.
Bush: Assassins 'Must Be Brought to Justice'
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318528,00.html
2 U.S. Lawmakers Advised by State Department to Leave Pakistan, Were to Meet
Bhutto
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318611,00.html
Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro said Friday the government had no
immediate plans to postpone the election, despite the violence and the
decision by Nawaz Sharif, another opposition leader, to boycott the poll.
Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party also called a meeting Sunday to decide
whether to participate in the vote. Her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, told the
British Broadcasting Corp. that their son would read a message left by
Bhutto and addressed to the party in event of her death.
On Saturday, roads across Bhutto's southern Sindh province were littered
with burning vehicles, smoking reminders of the continuing chaos since her
assassination Thursday. Factories, stores and restaurants were set ablaze in
Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, where 17 people have been killed and
dozens injured, officials said.
FOX411: Bhutto's Last Words
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318607,00.html
Amy Kellogg: Remembering Benazir Bhutto -
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318608,00.html
Pakistanis in U.S. Fear for Safety of Family in Homeland
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318667,00.html
TIMES OF LONDON: Who Killed Bhutto? - The Main Suspects
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3100052.ece
Army, police and paramilitary troops patrolled the nearly deserted streets
of Bhutto's home city of Larkana, where rioting left shops at a jewelry
market smoldering.
Sharif led a 47-member delegation of other opposition leaders to meet with
Bhutto's family to express condolences, said Sadiq ul-Farooq, spokesman for
Sharif's party.
Musharraf called Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, promising to make every
effort to bring the attackers to justice, state-run Pakistan Television
reported.
The government blamed Bhutto's killing on al-Qaida and Taliban militants
operating with increasing impunity in the lawless tribal areas along the
border with Afghanistan. It released a transcript Friday of a purported
conversation between Mehsud and another militant, apparently discussing the
assassination.
Click here to read the transcript of the conversation:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318787,00.html
"It was a spectacular job. They were very brave boys who killed her," Mehsud
said, according to the transcript.
Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema described Mehsud as an
al-Qaida leader who was also behind the Karachi bomb blast in October
against Bhutto that killed more than 140 people.
But a spokesman for Mehsud, Maulana Mohammed Umer, denied the militant was
involved in the attack and dismissed the allegations as "government
propaganda."
"We strongly deny it. Baitullah Mehsud is not involved in the killing of
Benazir Bhutto," he said in a telephone call he made to The Associated Press
from the tribal region of South Waziristan.
"The fact is that we are only against America, and we don't consider
political leaders of Pakistan our enemy," he said, adding that he was
speaking on instructions from Mehsud.
Mehsud heads Tehrik-i-Taliban, a newly formed coalition of Islamic militants
committed to waging holy war against the government, which is a key U.S.
ally in its war on terror.
Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party accused the government of trying to frame
Mehsud, saying the militant - through emissaries - had previously told
Bhutto he was not involved in the Karachi bombing.
"The story that al-Qaida or Baitullah Mehsud did it appears to us to be a
planted story, an incorrect story, because they want to divert the
attention," said Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Bhutto's party.
After the Karachi attack, Bhutto accused elements in the ruling
pro-Musharraf party of plotting to kill her. The government denied the
claims. Babar said Bhutto's allegations were never investigated.
Bhutto was killed Thursday evening when a suicide attacker shot at her and
then blew himself up as she left a rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi
near Islamabad. The attack killed about 20 others as well. Authorities
initially said she died from bullet wounds, and a surgeon who treated her
said the impact from shrapnel on her skull killed her.
But Cheema said she was killed when she tried to duck back into the armored
vehicle during the attack, and the shock waves from the blast smashed her
head into a lever attached to the sunroof, fracturing her skull, he said.
The government said it was forming two inquiries into Bhutto's death, one to
be carried out by a high court judge and another by security forces.
On Saturday, about half a dozen police investigators were still sifting
through evidence and taking measurements at the scene of the attack. More
than a dozen officers diverted traffic and provided security for the
investigators.
Mobs continued to wreak havoc across the country for a third day. Business
centers, gas stations and schools were closed and many roads were deserted.
Rioters in Karachi set fire to three factories, a restaurant, two shops and
several vehicles, said Ehtisham Uddin, a local fire official. Doctors at
hospitals in the city said 26 people were wounded overnight by gunshots,
many of them fired by protesters.
Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi said 17 people were killed in the city in
the violence and other officials said dozens were injured. Police arrested
250 people, Farooqi said. More than two dozen people have been killed
nationwide, officials said.
Attackers opened fire at a motorcade of Bhutto's supporters as they headed
back to Karachi after her funeral, killing one man and wounding two others,
said Waqar Mehdi, a spokesman for Bhutto's party.
