Cop accused of 'intentionally' decreasing Benazir's security during assassination rally

Rawalpindi, Jan 14(ANI): Former SSP (Operations) Rawalpindi Yaseen Farooq has accused former CPO Saud Aziz of "intentionally" decreasing former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto's security during her rally at Liaquat Bagh.

Yaseen turned a state witness against former CPO Saud Aziz and Rawal Town SP Khurram Shehzad in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case, and recorded his statement in front of a magistrate in Islamabad, the Daily Times reports.

In his confessional statement, he said Benazir's murder could have possibly been avoided if proper security was put in place, adding that Saud had intentionally decreased security for the PPP leader during her Liaquat Bagh rally on December 27, 2007, when she was assassinated.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court accepted the Federal Investigation Authority's plea for additional physical remand of Saud and Khurram, as investigators are yet to recover their cell phones, which the duo had used on the day Benazir was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Liaquat Bagh.

The phone data would help the investigators to know if other elements were also involved in the murder. (ANI)