Prometheus 6

Musharraf Delivers a Fierce Denial
Pakistan's President Blames Assassinated Rival for Being Incautious
By Griff Witte
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, January 4, 2008; A14

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 3 -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday vehemently denied that he or his government played any role in the death of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and instead blamed her for not heeding warnings to take extra precautions.

A week after Bhutto's assassination, Musharraf bristled at the suggestion -- often made by Bhutto supporters -- that he or his allies had had a hand in her death, saying the government lacked both the means and the motive.

"I have been brought up in a very educated and civilized family which believes in values, which believes in principles, which believes in character," he said at a news conference for foreign journalists held at the president's house. "My family is not a family which believes in killing people."

Musharraf added that he did not think the nation's powerful intelligence services were capable of recruiting someone to carry out a suicide bombing against Bhutto.

Instead, he again pinned responsibility on Islamic extremists, citing Baitullah Mehsud and Maulana Fazlullah, two pro-Taliban commanders who have created armies of radical followers in the country's restive northwest.