3 May 2013

Bhutto prosecutor shot dead

9:33 pm on 3 May 2013

Gunmen have shot dead the prosecutor investigating the murder of Pakistan's ex-leader Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated in 2007.

Police said Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali was ambushed as he was being driven from his Islamabad home to a court hearing in the Bhutto case in Rawalpindi.

Police have not speculated on a reason for the shooting, the BBC reports.

Chaudhry Zulfiqar was also the top prosecutor in a case related to the attacks in Mumbai, India, in 2008.

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been accused of failing to provide adequate security for Ms Bhutto at the time of her death.

Mr Musharraf, who recently returned to Pakistan after living abroad, is being held under house arrest while the claims against him are investigated. He denies the allegations.

No-one has ever been convicted over the murder of Ms Bhutto.

Police said Chaudhry Zulfiqar was on his way to the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi for a hearing on Friday morning when his car was ambushed and shot multiple times.

His bodyguard was also wounded and a woman passer-by killed.

Police say the gunmen fled on a motorbike.