Benazir's Last Momments

This report corraborates eye witness accounts and my pictures.
Secret report says Benazir died of gunshot



By By Shakeel Anjum
1/8/2008
ISLAMABAD: An explosive secret inquiry report, first of its kind so far on the assassination of Pakistan People's Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, has made shocking revelations.

It says that top religious extremist groups, including Baitullah Mehsud, "pooled" sophisticated expertise to eliminate Benazir Bhutto after a series of rehearsals at the site of her murder with active collaboration of some hidden but powerful hands in Islamabad.

Resources and technology of these groups were pooled after enemies of Ms Bhutto learnt lessons from the failed attempt on her life in Karachi on October 18. They made repeated rehearsals how to attack Ms Bhutto outside Liaquat Bagh, and after long deliberations these groups had decided to adopt "zero tolerance" theory to eliminate her.

The report has made the startling revelation that the skull of Benazir Bhutto had cracked instantly, as a result of 50 Newton force of a bullet, usually required to break the hairy skull. A lever or a hook could not create the required force, especially from a distance of six to eight inches from her head. No human tissue, fibre or bloodstain was found on the lever of Armour-plated sunroof, even with the use of magnifying glass.

"The height of Benazir was five feet and eight inches and the distance from the seat to the roof of the vehicle was three-and-a-half feet and the height of armour vehicle was one foot and nine inches.

While the total distance between the seats -- where Ms Bhutto was standing bare-feet -- was five feet and three inches, and the distance between her head and the hook remained between six to eight inches," the expert's report said.

Investigators have revealed that Ms Bhutto had instantly fallen inside the car after being hit by the bullet. Had she been out of the sunroof, her head might have been blown up and found somewhere else, as was the case of the bomber.

The report has also revealed that the bullet attack was followed by the explosive blast of 3-5kg intensity and it was wrong to assume that she had died after hitting her head with the sunroof of her car or parts of the bombs struck her head.

Investigators have also found one big hole of bullet in the scarf of Benazir Bhutto which, without any doubt, has established the fact that she died because of gunshot. "Benazir instantly died because of graze wounds of bullets which hit her head from the side and the bullet, too, has been recovered from the nearby traffic sign board," concludes findings of the investigation report.

A top agency in its preliminary report has now concluded that the deadly attack on Ms Bhutto was a sort of "joint venture" -- the first of its kind since suicide bombing got under way in Pakistan.

Officials, who investigated the murder, have now given their opinion that this joint venture was executed with the help of one banned Jihadi organisation, which provided suicide bombers, while the other group based in Waziristan provided the technology, after they formed an alliance with the blessings of certain anti-Benazir elements within some official quarters.

According to an agency, which has been investigating previous suicide attacks on high-profile personalities of Pakistan, this is the first time that its top investigators had found involvement of different groups, which carried out bombing, unlike the past exercise when only one particular group used to launch such attacks and accept the responsibility.

This time, investigators have observed, a plan was hatched to "pool" the expertise and resources of all groups, which deal in suicide bombing, to ensure a success.

These investigators have concluded that these groups were brought under "one umbrella" after learning lessons from the failed attempt on her life in Karachi on Oct 18.

The report has rejected all previous theories so far floated to explain causes of Benazir Bhutto's death and might trigger a new debate about elements, both official and unofficial, involved in eliminating the former prime minister.

Sources said investigators were pointing fingers at Baitullah Mehsud and a banned Jihadi organisation, who they had initially held responsible for her killing.

The report says: "The inspection of fired case indicates that it was fired fresh as no corrosion and metal damage was observed on it. Visible ejection marks were noticed on the body of fired case.

Cap percussion was found struck by the striker of pistol at the base of cartridge case. Moreover, propellant (GP) traces were also quite visible inside the fired case. It was 30mm SAA with lot No: 311-90, and seems to be manufactured in China. The 30mm pistol 'Norico' of China found by the police from the crime scene also substantiates the evidence."

"From the epicentre, line of fire was established with laser beam technology and effort was made to locate trajectory of fire along with hit marks. In the line of fire two separate bullet entry points were located.

First hit mark was observed on metalled billboard towards east to west at a distance on 147 feet with entry and exit point. The second hit mark was observed in the same direction but with high angled trajectory at a distance of 147 feet.

Resultantly, a window pane was broken, whereas no other glass has been broken up till this distance due to effects of blast, etc. If any other bullet was fired then there is a likely chance it might had hit the target. However, medical report provided by authorities does not substantiate our evidence.

As per medical report, there was a wound in right temporoparietal region measuring about 5x3cm just above the pinna of right ear. This wound has caused depressed skull fracture on right temporoparietal bone measuring approximately 35mm. The team of doctors concerned discussed the probable cause of wound and intensity of jerk to break the skull. It unanimously agreed that high kinetic energy as generated by some foreign body could cause such injury.

The size of wound is small if compared with the damage if variables of momentum are evaluated which are: "Momentum = mass x velocity".

"It is revealed that mass of the object which struck the head of victim is small but it had broken the skull. About 50 Newton force is required to break the skull of haired head. The other variable is only velocity; therefore, the probable result is derived that some very high velocity object had struck the head of the victim on right side. However, suicide bomber struck the vehicle on the rear left side where there is no injury as per medical report. Most probably, the victim had moved her head towards further right and exposed it to line of fire.

In light of medical report no surrounding wounds or blackening was seen which apparently indicates that face or body of the victim was not exposed to the blast." "Ignoring the security threat to her life, Benazir Bhutto came out of the sunroof of the vehicle. Apparently, it is the time when security is more vulnerable and has gaps and dents.

Taking advantage of this security lapse suspected suicide bomber joined the crowd and tried to get near her vehicle. When the vehicle reached Liaquat road just 69 feet from the VIP gate of Liaquat Bagh, suspected killer fired at her with pistol. Consequently, she fell down inside the vehicle".

"The height of vehicle is about seven feet. The sunroof from the seat is about three feet. It means that the victim was exposed in the air almost 2-3 feet with no protection in the rear and front. The shooter was standing just 8-10 feet from the victim, as length of the vehicle is just 15.4 feet. Moreover, the killer apparently fired 2-3 bullets. This scenario provides a very good chance to hit the victim."

"Within a fraction of a second, a blast occurred, just 8-10 feet away from the victim. The brunt of the blast was faced by the rear left side of bullet-proof vehicle. The intensity of blast is calculated about 3-5kg high explosive.

The shock-front generated by such type and quality of explosive will strike the right side of the victim just like a hammer with blow of more than one ton which could have broken the neck and converted the head into pieces.

However, these injuries were not mentioned in the medical report of the victim. It is, therefore, more apparent that, at the time of blast the victim was tugged down into the vehicle. The triggering mechanism seems to be manual. However, no evidence was recovered form the crime scene to substantiate it."

"The suicide bomber used approximately 3-5kg high explosive as calculated by measuring intensity detonation and blast wave. The explosives seemed to be of good quality."

"This terrorist attack seems to be unprecedented if we review the modus operandi. For the first time suicide bomber has used pistol to fire at the victim prior to detonation of explosive jacket.

The area presumably was well rehearsed with a resolve to assassinate the former prime minister. It was 43rd suicide attack of the year 2007 whereas in only one previous incident the suicide bomber used 30 bore (7.63mm) pistol while he attempted to attack at PTS Sargodha on August 2, 2007 but failed although he managed to kill two police officials with his pistol but his explosive jacket misfired being short-circuited."

"It was astonishing to note that the blast occurred at about 5.11pm and the VIP victim was shifted to hospital at around 5:35pm whereas the hospital is just 3-4km from the epicentre. This had caused loss of blood as noticed during inspection of the VIP vehicle where pool of blood was stagnant on the seat underneath the sunroof.

The more alarming thing is that the VIP victim was shifted to hospital in the same damaged vehicle which came under the blast, instead of evacuation through ambulance with a doctor." "It is 43rd suicide attack in the year 2007. The last month of the year topped the list in which eight suicide incidents occurred, followed by seven incidents, which happened in the month of July 2007.

The intensity of suicide bombings increased many folds in the aftermath of Lal Masjid in which 34 suicide attacks occurred all over the country, starting from Swat on July 12, 2007 for the first time."

"Modus operandi and triggering mechanism used in 15 suicide bombings is manual and mechanical by using the Striker Sleeve MUV-2 with the same lot number and factory code except a little variation of manufacturing year. It is a clear indicator that the same terrorist group is involved in almost all these incidents," the report concluded.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=90060

Missing Evidence from Bhutto's Murder By ARYN BAKER AND SIMON ROBINSON/ISLAMABAD
Tue Jan 1, 11:10 PM ET

With rumors of government complicity in Benazir Bhutto's assassination rife throughout Pakistan, the country's stability may depend on the absolute transparency of the investigation into the murder. But a constantly evolving and sometimes contradictory explanation of the events by Pakistani investigators has only clouded the issue. Meanwhile, her husband and her supporters are asking for a United Nations-led inquiry into her death, something Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is unlikely to accede to. But even if Musharraf were to agree, there is very little for international forensics experts to investigate.

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Within hours of the attack in the garrison town of Rawalpindi some 10 miles from the capital, authorities had already hosed down the streets. Pools of blood, along with possible evidence such as bullet casings, DNA samples from the bomber and tracks had been washed away. Retired Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, the former director general of Pakistani Intelligence, said he was shocked to see people cleaning up the debris so soon after the assassination. "It's a crime scene, and they're washing away all the evidence! We need to be asking why the hell was this thing done." One of the few pieces of evidence from the crime scene that remains is amateur footage showing a clean-cut man in a black vest brandishing what appears to be a gun. Behind him stands another man, a white scarf wrapped around his head. It is thought that he might have been the suicide bomber.


The situation had already been muddied by contradictory versions of how Bhutto died. Initial health official reports stated that Bhutto had been shot twice before a suicide bomber detonated himself seconds later. But by Saturday, the government reversed track. Bhutto had been shot at, said Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema, but the shooter missed. The force of the explosion knocked Bhutto, who had been waving at the crowds from her vehicle's sunroof, backwards. She hit her head on a protruding lever, and succumbed to the fractures to her skull. Cheema presented X rays to support his claim, but witnesses and close friends who rushed Bhutto to the hospital say that there was no doubt she had been shot.


Doctors who had attended Bhutto immediately after the attack initially said that she died of gunshot wounds, but over the weekend they released new findings in line with the Interior Ministry's claim that the official cause of death was head wounds sustained when Bhutto fell. The reversal has many people suspecting government interference. Says Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, an opposition member of the National Assembly and a former petroleum minister: "The government says it was the work of terrorists and they say someone has claimed responsibility. What I don't understand is why they keep changing the story of how Bhutto died? Why do that? These summersaults make everything look suspicious."


Khan says he is naturally skeptical of talk that the government could be behind the assassination but says that their inept handling of the investigation only adds to the rumors. The idea that Bhutto died when her head hit a lever as she was pushed down into her open top car is "ridiculous." He also says that the government is not serious in investigating incidents like last week's. "How come, at least in the last three years, there have been scores and scores if not hundreds of bomb blasts and suicide attacks in Pakistan and the only incidents that resulted in people being arrested and sentenced is in the two attacks on Pervez Musharraf?"


An autopsy would have been the obvious solution to the ongoing debate, but Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zadari declined one at the time of her death, explaining at a news conference on Sunday that, "It was an insult to my wife, an insult to the mother of the nation. I know their forensic reports are useless. I refuse to give them her last remains." The government has since offered to exhume the body, which was buried Friday, in order to perform a post-mortem - but it may be a case of too little, too late. Doing so now only risks inflaming tensions. Islamic traditions hold that the body is sacred, and must not be disturbed in death. As expected, Bhutto's family declined the offer.


As for who plotted the assassination, that too is clouded by what many see as either government incompetence or a knee-jerk choice of "usual suspects." On Friday, the Interior Ministery claimed that investigators had intercepted a telephone call that proved that Baitullah Mehsud, a leader of the Pakistani Taliban thought to be affiliated with al-Qaeda, had instigated the attack. Ministry spokesman Cheema released a transcript of a purported conversation between Mehsud and a follower, offering congratulations for a job well done.


But Bhutto supporters are skeptical of the reports' veracity. "We do not know if it is a genuine transcript or one created by the intelligence agencies," says PPP party spokesman Farhatullah Babar. Mehsud has become a convenient scapegoat in recent terrorist attacks, sometimes standing in when investigators turn up empty-handed. Speaking through his spokesman to the BBC, Mehsud denied any involvement in the attack, as he did when he was accused in the October 18 suicide bombing at a Bhutto rally in Karachi that killed some 140. Such denials, of course, are meaningless, but they do exacerbate rumors of government complicity, a situation that benefits an anti-government insurgency. "There is a very strong possibility that the intelligence agencies were behind the attack," Mehsud's spokesman told the BBC.


The government pirouettes may have less to do with a possible cover-up of an Administration-led assassination than a poorly executed attempt at damage control. If Bhutto was killed in a deliberate attack by a sniper, the government would have much more to answer for than if she was the victim of an arguably less-focused terrorist bombing. Bhutto has been dogged by terrorist threats since she returned to Pakistan on October 18; attending a rally and waving to crowds from the sunroof of her car was clearly a risky undertaking. And the government can argue that providing security under such conditions is impossible. "Look at our country," says Abdul Sattar, a former foreign minister under Musharraf. "Ask whether anyone could get security. I do not know while moving on a street with the supporters lining up along the side, front and rear, whether our security authorities have the capabilities to have a wall of security around the car."


Bhutto's supporters have demanded an international, independent investigation into the events leading to her death. California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said that Washington needed to answer some "troubling questions" about Pakistan's investigation so far. At yesterday's press conference, Bhutto's husband Zadari demanded a United Nations investigation, saying "We want a [assassinated Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik] Hariri commission-style investigation... we are writing to the United Nations for an international probe into her martyrdom." According to Dawn, a local newspaper Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said that he would "consider" outside help during a phone call with British PM Gordon Brown yesterday, which many are interpreting as a "thanks, but no thanks" dismissal.


And then there is the cynical view. In some ways, the lack of a definitive answer suits all sides. The government can maintain its story that an al-Qaeda suicide bomb plot killed Bhutto, thus exonerating itself from negligence at best and complicity at worst. Meanwhile the PPP can leverage the insinuation of government culpability to keep Bhutto's death relevant as Pakistan prepares for the elections she died campaigning for. With reporting by Khuda Yar Khan/Islamabad

View this article on Time.com


Related articles on Time.com:

High powered rifle bullet might have killed BB..experts

US experts criticise Benazir’s post-mortem

Tuesday, January 01, 2008
By Lawrence K. Altman

Leading American experts in forensic pathology this weekend deplored the failure of Pakistani officials to order an autopsy of Benazir Bhutto, saying that the standard medical procedure was a crucial part of any credible investigation of a murder.

Exhuming the body of Ms. Bhutto, 54, a former prime minister who was killed Thursday at a political rally, could still be extremely useful in determining more precisely whether she was shot, hit by shrapnel from a suicide bomb or, less likely, died from striking her head against an object in the vehicle in which she was riding, the experts said in interviews.

A reporter for The New York Times read the experts the entire medical report on Ms. Bhutto. Proper examination of the autopsy material, the clothing Ms. Bhutto wore when she was killed and the debris in the area surrounding the explosion could also help determine which extremist group made a bomb or fired a bullet, if either caused her death.

Ms. Bhutto’s case recalls that of President John F. Kennedy, who was slain in 1963. Controversy still swirls around the assassination, in part because of a flawed autopsy.

Not performing an autopsy of Ms. Bhutto “was a severe mistake, especially in the light of past problems with the murders of national leaders,” because it will fuel speculation, said Dr. Michael M. Baden, who is a top forensic official for the New York State Police as well as a former New York City chief medical examiner.

Seven doctors, but no forensic pathologist, signed Ms. Bhutto’s medical report. None were “trained to pick up the finer points of gunshot wounds” and other causes

of criminal deaths, Dr. Baden said.

For example, her doctors said they did not feel a bullet or foreign body, but did not probe for evidence of one. “With Kennedy, the treating doctors were wrong about the entrance and exit wounds” of the bullet-damaged skull, said Dr. Baden, who was chairman of the forensic pathology panel of the House of Representatives select committees on the assassinations of Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Baden said he suspected that Ms. Bhutto died from a bullet that left two or three tiny fragments seen on X-rays be-fore it exited the skull through a wound that the Pakistani doctors did not notice in part be-cause they apparently did not shave the bloodied thick scalp hair.

Dr. Werner U. Spitz, former chief medical examiner in Detroit, said he could not understand why the government did not try to quench “the thirst of the Pakistani people to know the facts, because they are all angry, and if you confronted them with the facts, maybe the anger” would disappear.

Dr. Spitz said he suspected that Ms. Bhutto died after being hit by a bullet fired from a high-powered rifle. Dr. Vincent J. DiMaio, a former chief medical examiner in San Antonio, who also deplored the lack of an autopsy in Ms. Bhutto’s case, said he suspected that a fragment that

was propelled against her head was a more likely explanation for her death than a bullet wound.

Courtesy NY times

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/12/30/pakistan.politics/index.html?ere f=yahoo

Well, I am sure by now you have also seen the video clips on CNN and ARY. They show Benazir's Duppatta and hair fluttering before she falls down. Also a Sky Photographer has captured the momment on camera. There are three shots before she falls and then the explosion.

improvised pictures....pix are now much clearer.

The man in the sunglasses, just see how calmly and professionally he does the 'job'.

After the shots, you neither see him running, nor being pounced upon by those around him. Was the crowd around protecting him?

Those around Benazir should have been looking in all directions, just like U.S. secret seervicemen do when protecting their president.

Everybody here seems to be on a picnic, Benazir's jeep should have been encircled by loyalists holding hands, and looking away from her in order to deter attackers. I think she had ZERO security.

The man in the sunglasses surely didn't know that his companion was on a suicide mission. He must have been misled into believing that the chador-clad man was only a simple backup. Whereas the chador-clad man must have been told that in case the man with the sunglasses faltered (or they got caught), he should detonate the device in order to avoid getting caught. Only the puppet masters know everything, not the fall-guys.

Everyone, including the police officers in the pictures, seem to have glued their eyes to Benazir. The looking into the camera of both the assassins is strange when all are looking at Benazir! It is as if they are awaiting a visual signal from someone to go ahead with the murder!

A sharp-looking man wearing a tie in a public meeting accompanying a chador-clad man should not have gone unnoticed.

Who or what prompted Benazir to stick her head out from the sunroof? She should've learnt a lesson from the 18 October blast in Karachi.

And then there's Zardari not having a post-mortem performed on his wife in order to respect her body! And then when her will is read out, he refuses to head PPP despite the fact that his wife explicity asked him to fulfil the duty! Respect?

Why hasn't PPP released pictures of the wounds Benazir suffered according to Sherry Rehman?

There will be more questions...

great work for showing it here...

The guy with the sunglasses looks like the shooter really.

The guy in the chador is most likely the suicide bomber. The guy in the sunglasses may not be aware of the suicide bomber's intention of blowing himself up.

"chor ki dhari mein tinka" is a very wise proverb.

When crime of this nature happens then police has to seal that area..why they washed forensic evidence within hours..??

When crime of this nature happens then it is considered as " a crime against state" and desires of "relatives" or friends become immaterial for the police..and autopsy becomes mandatory..todays News reports that police head of Pindi stopped hospital authorities from doing autopsy...why..??

Yesterday's Dawn reported that reporters asked interior ministry's Army man that if they could record "Mehsud's" conversation then what stopped them from arresting him...??

Why govt. of Pakistan is refusing investigation by foreign experts in this particular case only..when foreign experts always eat and drink with Civil and Army officers on various other projects in the country..??

Even in ordinary crimes, Police looks at all kind of suspects and motives and they look at the case from various angles, ..and governments refuse to give or allow any body to give pre mature statements....in this case ..why Army jumps and gives statements and try to become contractor or "thekay-dar" of every thing in Pakistan...How they knew for sure that "al- Kayda" did it..??

What evidence they have for saying that it was a "suicide" attack...it is quite possible that a remote control bomb, snipers with guns having silencers.. along with that guy whose pistol is visible in the photos..were used in this game..

It is quite possible that a terrorist suicide bomber or bombers did it...BUT..

Army men's desperate attempts to give pre mature statements and discrepancies in their statements are showing that they are lying ...

One thing is for sure that Pakistan has become a mafia state ..and any body can go..any time..

"chor ki dhari mein tinka" is a very wise proverb.

When crime of this nature happens then police has to seal that area..why they washed forensic evidence within hours..??

When crime of this nature happens then it is considered as " a crime against state" and desires of "relatives" or friends become immaterial for the police..and autopsy becomes mandatory..todays News reports that police head of Pindi stopped hospital authorities from doing autopsy...why..??

Yesterday's Dawn reported that reporters asked interior ministry's Army man that if they could record "Mehsud's" conversation then what stopped them from arresting him...??

Why govt. of Pakistan is refusing investigation by foreign experts in this particular case only..when foreign experts always eat and drink with Civil and Army officers on various other projects in the country..??

Even in ordinary crimes, Police looks at all kind of suspects and motives and they look at the case from various angles, ..and governments refuse to give or allow any body to give pre mature statements....in this case ..why Army jumps and gives statements and try to become contractor or "thekay-dar" of every thing in Pakistan...How they knew for sure that "al- Kayda" did it..??

What evidence they have for saying that it was a "suicide" attack...it is quite possible that a remote control bomb, snipers with guns having silencers.. along with that guy whose pistol is visible in the photos..were used in this game..

It is quite possible that a terrorist suicide bomber or bombers did it...BUT..

Army men's desperate attempts to give pre mature statements and discrepancies in their statements are showing that they are lying ...

One thing is for sure that Pakistan has become a mafia state ..and any body can go..any time..

the person who took these pics says that he has 56mb video of all these events, which should made everything clear

ijaz gul: these are valuable pictures that i have not seen on any public forum before. thanks for sharing.

these pics were shown on tv ..much moore clear...you can see the pistol as well

I saw these photos on Geo now (minus the illustrations). I admire the photographer who took these clinching photographs.

I have added two close ups

I have added two close ups

As Sheri rehamn testified to the media today that when she was giving BB's body the final bath she realized that her skull had a bullet wound where bullet eneterd from one side and exited from the other side of the skull. Based on this testimony it is quite plausible that there was sharpshooter on the nearby roof top to ascertain that bullet does not miss the target. Aparently he must have a high powered sniper rifle with a silencer. The conflicting medical reports, the fouj's stance on this issue, and washing out of forensic evidence within hours of the incident confirms the sharpshooter theory.

Yes, the man has been identified around 19-22, suited, wearing specs and using a pistol. Even the ministry of interior video shows a pistol pointing towards Benazir,

Yes, the man has been identified around 19-22, suited, wearing specs and using a pistol. Even the ministry of interior video shows a pistol pointing towards Benazir,

ijaz sahib, this sequence of pictures puts the final nail in the coffin of dictator's claims that she hit her head due to the force of explosion. From the third picture it is clear that BB was no longer visible AND that explosion had not occured yet.

I think it is a case of intra-enlightened killing

has this man been id'ed?

has this man been id'ed?

Please notice the man at centre in 2nd and third pic and at the bottom of the circle in third picture. He is the killer.

Mr. Gul,

Great!

These pix rubbishes the claims of GoP. Btw, where from u got these invaluable photos?

Please link these pictures with my posts at: -

http://www.chowk.com/articles/13261