‘Benazir’s killers released, we all will be assassinated’

ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Thursday took a strong exception to the release of an accused in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on bail.

“A message is being given to all the politicians that no one is safe in the country. We all will be assassinated if this trend continued,” he said on a point of order in the National Assembly.

He said that Benazir Bhutto was a global leader and was advised not to return to Pakistan, but she came and was martyred here. However, he said efforts were made to conceal the facts regarding her death.

Khursheed Shah questioned the nation should be told why the crime scene of Benazir Bhutto’s killing was washed out immediately after the attack.

The opposition leader said when former military ruler Pervez Musharraf came under attack, a mobile phone chip was recovered from the crime scene and the evidence led the security officials to the terrorists who were sentenced to death. “But when a political leader was assassinated, all the proofs were obvious, but the murderers have been acquitted,” he said.

Khursheed Shah said the PML-N never gave importance to the parliament and now the parliament has become helpless and its autonomy has ended.

“We asked the government countless times to come, sit and resolve the issues in the parliament, but the government never took it seriously and never gave respect to the legislature,” he said.

The opposition leader called for convening a meeting of the political parties to discuss scarcity of water in the country.

“There is no water in Sindh for human consumption and even for animals,” he said.

Khursheed Shah said that instead of 100,000 cusecs water share, only 30,000 cusecs of water is being released to Sindh. He suggested imposing water emergency in the country due to scarcity of water.

Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said the release of the accused in the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto is a serious issue and he will write a letter after consultation with the law minister.

The speaker questioned from the law minister why there was delay in the decision in the case of assassination of Benazir Bhutto as the case was in the courts for last 10 years.

Law Minister Mehmood Bashir Virk said Benazir Bhutto’s case was being heard for the last 10 years, while Nawaz Sharif’s case was being heard in the accountability court on daily basis.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab said Benazir Bhutto was a leader of international stature and the government wants justice in the case.