Musharraf gets bail in Benazir Bhutto assassination case

After being in jail for 14 days, former Pakistani President Parvez Musharraf was granted bail today in a case relating to the assassination ofA ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Pakistani anti-terrorism court A in RawalpindiA granted bail to Musharraf against two surety bonds of Rs. 10 lakh each. During the arguments, Musharraf's lawyer Salman Safdar said there was no solid evidence or witness against his client. He said that none from the family of any victim in the 2007 suicide attack had blamed Musharraf. Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar of the Federal Investigation Agency opposed Mr. Musharraf's bail petition, saying the former President could flee Pakistan if he was freed from detention. Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber after she addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007. Mr. Musharraf has been accused of providing inadequate security to Bhutto. Sixty-nine year old Musharraf, who is currently being held at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad, came back to Pakistan in March after being in self-exile to lead his All Pakistan Muslim League party in the election. He was however barred by a court from contesting polls for the rest of his life. Musharraf has been accused of not providing enough protection to Benazir which ultimately led to her assassination. Apart from that, he wasA arrested for detaining dozens of judges during the 2007 emergency and for the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation. Speculation is rife in Islamabad that Mr. Musharraf may be allowed to leave the country under a deal worked out by the powerful military.