It has been 17 years since the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s first woman prime minister, yet the full truth surrounding her death remains shrouded in mystery.
Despite the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) returning to power on three separate occasions during this period, the party has been unable to provide the public with any definitive answers about the circumstances surrounding his murder.
Benazir was assassinated on the evening of 27 December 2007 after addressing a rally at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi. As she left the venue, gunshots followed a loud explosion, killing her and shocking the nation.
Several individuals and groups have been indicted over the years, including al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, former president General Pervez Musharraf, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) founder Baitullah Mehsud, and police officers Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad.
While the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced two police officers to 17 years in prison for negligence and tampering with evidence, five others were acquitted in 2017 after more than 300 hearings.
An investigation by Scotland Yard and a UN commission also pointed fingers at some military officials, but the PPP government rejected the UN report through its own inquiry committee.
Key suspects Baitullah Mehsud and Osama bin Laden were later killed in drone strikes and military operations, while no evidence was found to implicate Musharraf.
The case is now effectively closed, with appeals against the convictions of the police officers pending. Some insiders claim that concrete evidence regarding the real culprits was never produced in court. Meanwhile, TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud has admitted in his book that the group was behind Benazir’s murder. However, he did not provide any details about who ordered the killing or the wider conspiracy.
Questions still remain about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, leaving a painful gap in Pakistan’s pursuit of justice and accountability.