Reporter: Musharraf linked to Bhutto death

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 22 (UPI) -- An American journalist accuses former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf of complicity in the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

New York Daily News reporter Mark Siegel published an opinion piece Wednesday saying, as a close friend of Bhutto, there is overwhelming evidence Musharraf, a now-retired general who was president of Pakistan at the time, was not only aware of her impending assassination, but may have played a more direct role.

The piece comes only a few weeks after Pakistan's government requested Interpol issue an international arrest warrant for Musharraf in Bhutto's death, as well as a 70-page report released by a U.N. tribunal that holds the Musharraf administration responsible.

Siegel accused Musharraf of delivering dire threats to Bhutto to prevent her return to Pakistan, telling her she would be responsible for what happened to her. Independent News Pakistan also reports Musharraf did not provide Bhutto with a sufficient security retinue, a move Siegel believes was deliberate in order to allow the assassination to succeed.

Bhutto was killed leaving Rawalpindi on Dec. 27, 2007. A gunman took aim at her while she waved through the roof of her bulletproof vehicle and shortly after, explosives were detonated nearby. Siegel reported the crime scene was hosed down as soon as possible, destroying forensic evidence. No investigation followed.