RAWALPINDI - The lawyers of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf yesterday cross-examined Mark Siegel, a US lobbyist and journalist, in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. An anti-terrorism court started the cross-examination at 6:45pm in the office of the Rawalpindi commissioner where special arrangements had been made for video conferencing. Mark Siegel was present in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington. Anti-Terrorism Court Number 1 Special Judge Rai Muhammad Ayub Marth had set January 20 as the date for cross-examination after the US journalist confirmed he would be available on the given day. Barrister Farogh Naseem was the leading lawyer representing Musharraf in the former premier’s murder case.
According to the sources close to the proceedings, Siegel in the beginning said he would take oath to the satisfaction of this honourable court. Siegel said he was a Jew, but would take oath to satisfy the court. The sources said that in response to a question by the defence lawyer, Siegel said the Pakistan government hired his legal firm for lobbying in the United States of America. He said he had been an unpaid lobbyist for former premier Benazir Bhutto. According to sources, Siegel said that due to his firm’s lobbying in the past, Pakistan received the third largest US aid and succeeded in obtaining F-16 Jets. He said his firm received US dollars 900,000 from the government of Pakistan for lobbying and this amount was less than what the Pakistan government had paid to different lobbying firms in the US.
The cross-examination was underway when this report was filed. There were reports that the defence lawyer would take his maximum time to cross-examine the US lobbyist. It may here be mentioned that Siegel was a key prosecutor witness against Musharraf in the BB murder case. In his statement recorded on October 1, Siegel said Benazir Bhutto had told him about a threatening call from Musharraf. He said that Musharraf had asked BB not to come to Pakistan in 2007 because she could face life threats. Siegel further said Benazir Bhutto had emailed him that if anything happened to her, Musharraf would be held responsible.