Eighteen years on, the mysteries surrounding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto—the first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Muslim world—remain unresolved. Despite being in power for eight years after her killing, the Pakistan Peoples Party failed to expose and bring the real perpetrators to justice.
The case was tried for ten years in a special Anti-Terrorism Court and has now been pending for the past eight years before the Rawalpindi Bench of the High Court. From January 1, 2024 to December 27, 2025, the High Court has not scheduled a single hearing of this globally known assassination case.
Despite holding the offices of President and Chairman of the Senate, the Pakistan Peoples Party has been unable to get the case fixed for hearing. There is also no likelihood of a hearing being scheduled before January 31.
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007, after addressing a rally at the historic Liaquat Bagh. As she was leaving the venue in cold, cloudy weather, she was first shot at Liaquat Bagh Chowk and then targeted in a suicide attack. Twenty-seven party workers were martyred and 98 others injured in the attack.
The case underwent four separate investigations—by the United Nations, Scotland Yard (UK), Punjab Police, and finally the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). A total of seven charge sheets were submitted. During the proceedings, 12 judges were changed, 291 hearings were held, and statements of 57 witnesses were recorded. Senior prosecutor Zulfiqar Chaudhry, who was pursuing the case, was himself assassinated on the day of a hearing.
