Musharraf named in Bhutto investigation

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf ordered the site of Benazir Bhutto's assassination wiped clean immediately after the event, an official said.

Bhutto was killed in December 2007 following a campaign rally after she had returned to Pakistan from exile to run in January 2008 parliamentary elections.

Her supporters said they suspected government involvement in her death. She was said to be wary of Musharraf as she attempted to return to power in Pakistan from self-imposed exile in London.

Saud Aziz, the former chief of police for Rawalpindi, said Musharraf ordered Bhutto's security detail changed just prior to the assassination and later ordered the crime scene cleaned immediately, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.

Aziz was arrested in December. His statements were given to Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency, which added Musharraf's name to the list of those accused in the 2007 assassination, Dawn adds.

Police officials testified that Aziz had collected evidence and cleaned most of the area after the attack because mourners were smearing themselves with Bhutto's blood.

Malik Waheed Anjum, a lawyer representing Aziz, said at a December news conference that many security procedures were largely ignored on the day of the attack.