Pakistani court declares ex-military leader a fugitive in Bhutto murder case

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Thursday declared ex-military leader Pervez Musharraf a fugitive in the murder case of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and acquitted five people in the killing.

As an “absconder”, Musharraf must be arrested and brought to trial if he returns to Pakistan after being allowed to leave the country last year. The court also ordered Musharraf’s property in Pakistan seized.

Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide and gun attack in Rawalpindi in 2007, weeks after she returned from exile to campaign in elections to bring back civilian rule.

Bhutto’s daughter Aseefa Zardari tweeted after the court’s decision that “There will be no justice till Pervez Musharraf answers for his crimes!”

Five accused members of the Pakistani Taliban were found not guilty of any role in the attack due to a lack of evidence.

Special Prosecutor for the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Khawaja Mohammad Imtiaz said he found the acquittal surprising.

“We believe there was a very strong case against them,” he told reporters after the verdict, adding that three of the men had confessed to assisting in the attack.