ISLAMABAD — December 27 brings us all back to mystery surrounding Pakistan’s most devastating political assassination. It was the dark day when former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was gunned down, but a few people know that Bhutto was warned just hours before her death that an attempt would be made on her life.
On night of December 26, 2007, after returning exhausted from long journey, Benazir Bhutto reached Zardari House, Islamabad. Despite her tiredness, Benazir agreed to urgent late-night meeting with Major General Nadeem Taj, then Director General ISI. The meeting took place at 1:30 am, and was also attended by BB security aide Rehman Malik.
Journalist and author Owen Bennett-Jones quoted that meeting in his book, saying General Nadeem Taj warned Benazir, as there was credible intelligence that she would be attacked that very day. Benazir reportedly questioned the ISI chief directly: “If you know who these suicide bombers are, why don’t you arrest them?”
Benazir demanded more protection for herself and for her workers. ISI chief assured her he would use “all his power” to ensure her safety, the journalist said. Within hours, she would be dead.
PPP leader slept for two hours after the meeting, her killers were already arriving in Rawalpindi. UN investigator Heraldo Muñoz also confirmed that Taliban operatives did recky of Liaquat Bagh and two teenage attackers were armed, one with a pistol, the other with grenade.
On December 27, Benazir followed her schedule as planned. Despite the intelligence warning, no extraordinary security measures were visible.
At 3:16 p.m., her convoy was inexplicably stopped for several minutes at Liaquat Bagh’s inner gate, police did not have the key. Benazir stood exposed through vehicle’s roof hatch, in full public view, and no one forced her to sit down.
Before quarter past 5, the assassin struck, three bullets. One suicide blas, and Pakistan’s most prominent political leader collapsed inside her vehicle. To everyone’s surprise, there was not a single ambulance on site, Owen said. She reached the hospital 34 minutes after the attack, without a pulse, without breathing, with catastrophic head injuries.
There was no post-mortem allowed by Bhutto family. Police denied permission. Later, Benazir’s husband Asif Ali Zardari also refused consent. The official death certificate left the cause of death “to be determined after post-mortem”, that never happened.
