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Pakistan Charges 5 in Bhutto Murder

Top Taliban leader and others accused of plotting assassination

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 1, 2008 6:32 PM CST
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(Newser) – Police in Pakistan have filed charges against five men, including the country’s top Taliban commander, accusing them of planning the December assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the AP reports. President Pervez Musharaff had named the Taliban leader (and suspected al-Qaeda operative), Baitullah Mehsud, days after the attack, but today’s formal accusation led a judge to issue warrants for his and his co-conspirators’ arrest.

It is not clear if the police are close to finding Mehsud, who is based near the border with Afghanistan and is the suspected mastermind of a rash of suicide bombings across Pakistan. Meanwhile, over 50 people were killed in attacks that rocked the northwestern part of the country, another pro-Taliban region and a battleground between militants and the Pakistani army.

Pakistani police officers escort suspect Aitezaz Shah, center, a teenager allegedly involved in the assassination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, after he appeared at an anti-terrorism court, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Police claim that Shah, who was arrested last month, was a backup in case the...
Pakistani police officers escort suspect Aitezaz Shah, center, a teenager allegedly involved in the assassination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, after he appeared at an anti-terrorism...   (Associated Press)
Map locates South Waziristan, Pakistan, where tribal leaders were killed; 1c x 1 7/8 inches; 46.5 mm x 47.6 mm
Map locates South Waziristan, Pakistan, where tribal leaders were killed; 1c x 1 7/8 inches; 46.5 mm x 47.6 mm   (Associated Press)
Pakistan army troops patrol in Miran Shah, capital of North Waziristan, Pakistan's tribal area along the Afghanistan on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008. A missile destroyed a suspected militant hideout in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 12 people inside, officials said, as hundreds of students protested Pakistan's support for the U....
Pakistan army troops patrol in Miran Shah, capital of North Waziristan, Pakistan's tribal area along the Afghanistan on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008. A missile destroyed a suspected militant hideout in northwestern...   (Associated Press)
First prize in the Spot News Singles category of the 2008 World Press Photo contest by American photographer John Moore, Getty Images, showing the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Dec. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/John Moore/ Getty Images) This material is for single publications in print or for a temporary...
First prize in the Spot News Singles category of the 2008 World Press Photo contest by American photographer John Moore, Getty Images, showing the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Rawalpindi, Pakistan,...   (Associated Press)
A Pakistani man attends a memorial for assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Friday Jan. 11, 2008 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The assassination by suicide attack, and another suicide bombing Thursday came as Pakistan was preparing for elections now scheduled for February 18.(AP Photo/Ed Wray)
A Pakistani man attends a memorial for assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Friday Jan. 11, 2008 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The assassination by suicide attack, and another suicide...   (Associated Press)
Supporters of Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Pakistan's slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, carry away a banner of Bhutto after a campaign rally in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Thursday Feb. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
Supporters of Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Pakistan's slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, carry away a banner of Bhutto after a campaign rally in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Thursday Feb. 14, 2008. (AP...   (Associated Press)
Residents of Pakistan's tribal region Waziristan, travel to a safe area near Bannu, Pakistan on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008, as the army battle with militants alleged to have links with al-Qaida and the Taliban. Thousands more people fled their homes in South Waziristan due to similar military operations. The military...
Residents of Pakistan's tribal region Waziristan, travel to a safe area near Bannu, Pakistan on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008, as the army battle with militants alleged to have links with al-Qaida and the Taliban....   (Associated Press)
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Pakistan's slippery grip on pro-Taliban regions
New York Times

 
Afghanistan • Taliban • Pakistan • Pervez Musharraf • suicide bombing • Benazir Bhutto • Nawaz Sharif • Shahbaz Sharif • Afghan border • Baitullah Mehsud

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