Pakistani court issues arrest warrant for former President Pervez Musharraf over assassination of ex-PM Benazir Bhutto

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for former president Pervez Musharraf over the assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The former president and military ruler is alleged to have been part of a "broad conspiracy" to have his political rival killed before elections, though the exact nature of the charges against him was not immediately clear.

"Judge Rana Nisar Ahmad has issued non-bailable warrant for former President Pervez Musharraf and directed him to appear before the court on February 19," special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali told AFP.

He said that a joint investigation team that had been formed to probe the assassination said in its report Musharraf had involvement in the case and was equally responsible. "The report said it was a broad conspiracy involving Pervez Musharraf, two police officials and terrorists," Ali said after the closed-door hearing that took place in Rawalpindi's Adiala prison.

But Musharraf's spokesman in London told AFP that the former president would not comply with the warrant. "No, he won't be going back for this hearing," Fawad Chaudhry said, adding that the warrant was "totally ridiculous".

Chaudhry ridiculed Pakistani accusations that Musharraf failed to provide adequate security for Bhutto. "How can the president of a country be made responsible for the non-provision of security? It's totally ridiculous, you cannot pin criminal responsibility on a president for that," Chaudhry said.

Bhutto was killed after addressing an election campaign rally in the garrison city, near the capital Islamabad, on December 27, 2007.