Pak Supreme Court calls for 'independent' Benazir Bhutto murder probe

Islamabad, Feb 1(ANI): The Pakistan Supreme Court has called for an independent probe into former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's murder, which it termed as being serious in nature.

The court also issued notices to the respondents, including Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik, former law minister Dr Babar Awan and PML-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi, allegedly involved in the Benazir Bhutto murder case to file a reply within two weeks.

The court also said it would constitute a larger bench to look into registration of the second FIR filed by Bhutto's former chief protocol officer on the matter, The Nation reports.

The move came after a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Pervaiz heard the case.

A petitioner had earlier pleaded to make Pervez Musharraf, Rehman Malik, Babar Awan, Pervaiz Elahi, former interior minister Hamid Nawaz, former DG Intelligence Bureau Ejaz Shah, former interior secretary Kamal Shah, Brig (r) Javed Cheema, former DCO Rawalpindi Irfan Ilahi, ex-CPO Rawalpindi Saud Aziz and SP Rawal Town Khurram Shahzad as respondents in the case.

Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry also ordered the Anti-Terrorism Court's special judge to submit copies of the proceedings, along with order sheets for the next hearing.(ANI)