Pakistan will ask Interpol for help in arresting Musharraf

CNN reported Tuesday that the Pakistani Interior Ministry said it will seek Interpol's help in bringing former president Pervez Musharaf to justice in connection with the assassination of former prime minster Benazir Bhutto.

"The court has already declared him a proclaimed offender," said the Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, as quoted in the Hindustan Times. "We will get him through the Interpol to Pakistan to face trial."

The Interior Minister stopped short of accusing Musharraf of being directly involved in the murder.

Rather, as Dawn reported, Malik blamed Baitullah Mehsud, the Haqqani network and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, a terrorist group, for the murder.

Using evidence such as cell phone records, the Interior Minister said Mehsud paid $4,500 for Bhutto's assassination due to her stance against Islamic militants in the region.

Yet, as the Hindustan Times reported, Malik said that Musharraf had failed to "provide adequate security commensurate to the threat" though his government knew that Bhutto was under "tremendous threat" from militants, and this made him "even more culpable and very difficult to defend."

Malik made the announcement during a televised speech to provincial lawmakers in Sindh which was broadcast for a national audience.

Last November, five alleged militants were charged with helping the suicide attacker that killed Bhutto and two police officers for failing to provide security.

Former president Musharraf has been in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai since he left Pakistan in 2008, reported the Telegraph.