Musharraf quizzed by UN in Bhutto case

Islamabad, Nov. 17: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was quizzed last week by a UN panel probing the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Mr Musharraf was interviewed by the UN commission of inquiry in New York shortly after the panel wrote to the Pakistan government saying it wanted to meet him.

The interview lasted for two hours, Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying. The channel quoted its sources and a communication to the government from Pakistan’s permanent representative at the UN as saying that Mr Musharraf had sought “strict confidentiality” about the meeting with the UN commission.

The panel agreed not to announce the meeting, the document said.

Geo also quoted its sou-rces as saying that Mr Musharraf had told the commission that a letter sent to Ms Bhutto in 2007 had asked her not to return to Pakistan as there was a threat to her life. At that time, Ms Bhutto was living in self-exile outside Pakistan.

The sources quoted Mr Musharraf as telling the UN panel that foolproof security was provided to Ms Bhutto and there was no security failure that led to her killing.

The UN commission had said in its letter to the Pakistan government in October that if Mr Musharraf failed to appear before it, this would be mentioned in the report to be submitted to the UN Secretary General.

Ms Bhutto was assassinated by a suicide bomber after she addressed an election ral-ly in December 2007.