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Journalism of Courage
Ruling out the involvement of military and intelligence agencies in the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today said he had warned her about threats to her life but she had ignored that.
Disclosing that Bhutto had sought security from Scotland Yard, Musharraf said: 8220;We are capable of handling the security8230; are we useless, can8217;t we handle our situation, do we always need the support of the foreign agencies? No, we don8217;t.8221;
However, he justified his decision to seek Scotland Yard8217;s help in the investigations. 8220;I have called Scotland Yard as we want to prove to the world and our own people that we have nothing to hide,8221; he said at an interaction with the foreign media this evening.
Musharraf blamed the PPP leadership for not being able to prevent people from swarming Bhutto8217;s vehicle. 8220;I had spoken to her after the October 18 blast, and had warned her of the security threats to her life8230; I had told her that she was in a different Pakistan, diferrent from the Pakistan she had left,8221; he said.
Denying any laxity on the part of the government, he said Bhutto had been given the choice of having a handpicked officer as her security-in-charge. 8220;I am not blaming him, but she had got the man she wanted to protect her,8221; he said.
He also refuted Bhutto8217;s allegations that certain people should be blamed if anything were to happen to her. 8220;I want to know why did she say that, on what basis can one make such allegations. These were wild allegations, which are baseless,8221; he said.
Regarding reports of the assassination spot being quickly hosed down, possibly destroying vital evidence, Musharraf said: 8220;I am sure that they did not do it with an intention of hiding some secrets or that the intelligence agencies instructed them to hide secrets. If you are meaning that it was by design to hide evidence, no,8221; he said. 8220;It was inefficiency.8221;
