Murtaza Bhutto

ASIF ZARDARI BOOKED IN MURTAZA CASE
KARACHI, Dec 19: The CIA police on Thursday formally booked Asif Ali
Zardari in the Mir Murtaza Bhutto case and shifted him from Landhi Jail to
the Women police station near governor house amid tight security. The area
was without electricity when Mr Zardari was escorted in an APC (PS-9762) by
the SSP CIA, Ali Gohar Mithiani, to the Women police station. The CIA police
will produce him in the court of district and sessions judge, South, on
Saturday to seek his remand for interrogation in the murder case, sources
said.
His lawyers, who met him at 6.30pm on Thursday, told Dawn Mr Zardari
was very happy with the Sindh High Court's judgement regarding his illegal
detention. According to his lawyers, Mr Zardari told them: "I have always,
and still have great respect for and trust in the judiciary. I am innocent. They
have implicated me in false cases." His detention, under maintenance of
public order (MPO), was set aside by the Sindh High Court on Wednesday,
but he was not released.
Meanwhile, deposed Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Thursday alleged that
her husband Asif Zardari had been implicated in Mir Murtaza case at the
behest of the president, and vowed to frustrate all "conspiracies" to blackmail
and throw her out of the political process. She told reporters outside the
Landhi jail where she had gone straight from the airport to see Mr Zardari
but was not allowed because she had no written permission in that regard.
Tension mounted as PPP leaders Naheed Khan, Munawar Suhrawardy,
Waqar Mehdi and others started banging the main gate of the heavily
guarded prison, demanding the jail authorities to let Ms Bhutto in. Jail
officials said they had no instructions but the PPP activists kept on pressuring
while chanting slogans against the caretaker administration. As some of them
tried to scale the gate, the police contingent deployed at the gate took up
position. One of them pointed his gun at Ms Bhutto's vehicle.
The ousted prime minister, who arrived here to select party candidates, said
the next elections would be a war between her and President Leghari, at
whose behest, she alleged, Mr Zardari, Abdullah Shah and others were being
implicated in "false cases to blackmail and pressurise her." "If witch hunting
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