Baitullah Mehsud, concieved, funded and ordered the killing of Benazir Bhutto

It cost Rs 0.4 million - that's about $7000 bucks.

He wasn't crazy about her stance on the war on terror and wanted to keep a female from becoming the leader of a Muslim state.

Militant commander Baitullah Mehsud had conceived, funded and ordered PPP Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto’s killing in a gun and bomb attack, said Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, chief investigator of the Liaquat Bagh incident.

Majeed told a news conference here that the joint investigation team had arrested Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah, Hussnain Gul, Rafaqat and Abdul Rashid Turabi who later confessed being ‘facilitators’ of Bhutto’s killing. He quoted these accused as claiming that Bilal alias Saeed blew himself up after firing two shots at Bhutto.

He said Baitullah Mehsud had masterminded and ordered the killing and distributed Rs 0.4 million among the killer and facilitators. He said Baitullah made money through thefts, called Maal-e-Ghaneemat.

Majeed said the accused had disclosed that they got militant training at camps run by madrassas in Waziristan agency in FATA and Mansehra district of NWFP.

He said the accused and Benazir’s killer had tried to target Bhutto in Peshawar but failed. Their earlier plan to kill PPP chairwoman on October 18 in Karachi also bore no fruit, he said. He said the accused and killer spoke to each other over cell phone in code words before attacking Bhutto.

He said Mehsud saw off the killer group saying he would see its members in heaven. He said the accused were convinced that Allah would allow them entry into heaven for killing Bhutto who wanted to act against mujahideen in Waziristan to please the US after coming to power.

He said the accused also wanted to stop a woman from becoming prime minister of a Muslim state in line with the Islamic injunctions.

Majeed said the Lal Masjid operation had persuaded the accused to ‘sacrifice’ their lives for Islam.He said Aitzaz Shah and Sher Zaman were involved in attacking a camp office of Pakistan Air Force in Kamra. He said some other facilitators might also be involved in Bhutto’s killing.

Majeed said Waziristan housed a good number of madrassas, which trained youngsters for suicide missions. He said other members of the JIT were ready to confirm confessions made by the accused.