Islamabad: Pakistan's former military dictator Pervez Musharraf was responsible for the assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto because she had informed him of the death threats she was facing, a top American journalist has said in his testimony in the case.
In his four-page statement recorded on October 1, American journalist and lobbyist Mark Siegel said that an intelligence agency of a Gulf country had traced a phone call in which plans to murder Bhutto were discussed.
According to that phone call, three accomplices of Musharraf were part of that plan, Siegal said in his statement recorded before anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi through a video link from the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.
Musharraf, 72, was responsible for the murder of Bhutto because she had informed him of the death threats being faced by her, he was quoted as saying by Geo News.
The US journalist also stated that Bhutto had requested Musharraf to be allowed to bring a foreign security team to Pakistan. The former president dismissed her request for a foreign security team and cars with tinted windows.
Siegel in his statement further said he had learnt that mobile jammers provided for Bhutto's security during the Karsaz tragedy were not operational.
Bhutto, the former two-time prime minister, was killed in December 2007 in a bomb attack in Rawalpindi when Musharraf was president of the country.
Musharraf has been indicted as one of the accused in the case. The ex-general has rejected the charges against him.
Siegel's testimony is considered as important to conclude the trial of case which has been going on for years. Musharraf ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008.
He faces several cases. He is not allowed to leave the country.
