ISLAMABAD, May 13: Following the murder of his colleague Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, a special prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) seems reluctant to continue with the Benazir Bhutto murder case unless the government provides him a ‘box security’.

Azhar Chaudhry, the special prosecutor, who is supposed to file a challan against former military ruler General (retired) Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday (today) in the Benazir murder case, has demanded such a security in which the security personnel would surround him during his movement to and from the court.

“I have written to the caretaker interior minister, secretary interior, director general FIA, anti-terrorism court and the inspector general of Punjab police for the provision of security. But none except the IGP Punjab contacted me about the matter,” he said.

He added: “I am still waiting and will not appear in the ATC unless a ‘box security’ is provided to me during my movement.”

He claimed that terrorists were continuously threatening him after he engaged himself with the high-profile murder and Mumbai attacks cases.

According to him, the witnesses and other lawyers associated with the cases were also under threat.

He said inadequate security arrangements would weaken the prosecution case.

It may be mentioned that since April when Gen Musharraf surrendered before the IHC in the judges’ detention case and the LHC in the Benazir murder case, lawyers in the twin cities have been under attack by unknown persons.

During the last one month, in addition to the murder of the FIA special prosecutor, senior lawyers Mujeebur Rehman Kiyani, Basharatullah Khan and Sardar Manzar Bashir were severely beaten up by unknown men.

Interestingly, all the three lawyers are known to be anti-Musharraf. Mr Kiyani is a senior member of the Punjab Bar Council, Basharatullah was the defence counsel in a number of terrorism cases, including the Musharraf attack case.

Sardar Manzar was among those lawyers who had filed a complaint against leaders of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) after having a scuffle with them outside the ATC Rawalpindi on April 23.

The lawyers’ bodies in the twin cities on Monday observed a partial strike against the abduction and torture of advocate Manzar and condemned the incident.

Opinion

Editorial

Reserved seats
Updated 15 May, 2024

Reserved seats

The ECP's decisions and actions clearly need to be reviewed in light of the country’s laws.
Secretive state
15 May, 2024

Secretive state

THERE is a fresh push by the state to stamp out all criticism by using the alibi of protecting national interests....
Plague of rape
15 May, 2024

Plague of rape

FLAWED narratives about women — from being weak and vulnerable to provocative and culpable — have led to...
Privatisation divide
Updated 14 May, 2024

Privatisation divide

How this disagreement within the government will sit with the IMF is anybody’s guess.
AJK protests
14 May, 2024

AJK protests

SINCE last week, Azad Jammu & Kashmir has been roiled by protests, fuelled principally by a disconnect between...
Guns and guards
14 May, 2024

Guns and guards

THERE are some flawed aspects to our society that we must start to fix at the grassroots level. One of these is the...