Musharraf: Bhutto Endangered Herself

President Pervez Musharraf dismissed accusations today that Pakistan's government was involved in the Dec. 27 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, citing extensive security provided to the ex-prime minister as well as careless disregard for her own safety. “There is no complicity,” he said of the killing. “Would I or the government be the maximum gainer from doing this?"

A confident Musharraf said Bhutto was warned repeatedly of threats against her and that the government provided four squads of about 30 people permanently detailed to her and more than 1,000 police officers at the site of her murder. Musharraf also challenged predictions of foul play in parliamentary elections set for Feb. 18. “There is a crisis, and I hope the solution is elections,” he said. (More Benazir Bhutto stories.)