Musharraf threatened Benazir, testifies American journo Mark Seigel

ISLAMABAD: Mark Seigel, American journalist and a key witness in the murder case of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has recorded his statement before a Pakistan anti-terrorism court through video link that general Pervez Musharraf had warned that her safety would depend on the state of their relationship. Seigel told the antiterrorism court in Rawalpindi that Benazir had a 15-minute telephone conversation with Musharraf on September 25, 2007, which she later described as a very "bad call" — just three weeks before her return to the country. "She (Benazir) showed me the name of Musharraf on phone screen when he was calling," Seigel said. After receiving the call, he said, Benazir seemed very disturbed and was trembling with rage. "She was very upset," he added. The American journalist said Musharraf told Benazir that her life was in danger and her involvement in political activities in Pakistan will be at her own responsibility. Moreover, according to Seigel, Musharraf told Benazir, "Your security is dependent on the relationship between us." Seigel said the conversation took place in his presence in the Washington office of US senator Tom Lantos. His statement was recorded at Pakistan embassy in Washington DC on Thursday at about 8pm. Seigel further said that Benazir had sent him an email on October 23, 2007, just weeks before her assassination, expressing her sense of insecurity. In that email, she wrote that if something happened to her, Musharraf would be responsible for it. Besides Musharraf, she also mentioned other individuals, including former ISI chief General Hamid Gul, ex-chief of Intelligence Bureau Ijaz Shah and former Punjab CM Pervez Ilahi, in that email. Seigel told the court that Benazir also wrote a letter to Musharraf informing him that his top officers were planning to kill her. She was killed on December 27, 2007, after addressing a pre-election rally at Rawalpindi. Her murder case has been lingering on for eight years. The hearing into Bhutto's murder case will resume on October 5. -TOI