RAWALPINDI // The former Paksitani president and army chief, Pervez Musharraf, was indicted yesterday on murder charges in connection with the 2007 assassination of the former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, deepening the fall of a once-powerful figure who returned to the country this year to make a political comeback.
The decision by a court in Rawalpindi marked the first time Mr Musharraf, or any former army chief in Pakistan, has been charged with a crime.
Mr Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup and stepped down from office in disgrace nearly a decade later, now faces a litany of legal problems that have in many ways broken taboos on the inviolability of the once-sacrosanct military in Pakistani society.
He is currently under house arrest in connection with one of the cases against him.
The retired general was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and facilitation for murder, said prosecutor Chaudhry Muhammed Azhar. He did not specify what exactly Mr Musharraf was accused of doing but prosecutors have previously accused him of failing to provide enough protection to Bhutto.
Under Pakistan's legal system he had previously been arrested on accusations he played a role in the assassination but yesterday's legal proceedings marked the first time the government has formally charged him with a specific crime in Bhutto's killing.
The former army commando appeared in person during the brief morning hearing yesterday and pleaded not guilty, said Afshan Adil, a member of Mr Musharraf's legal team.
"These are all fabricated cases. There is nothing solid in all these case," she said.
Bhutto was killed in 2007 during a gun and bomb attack at a rally in the city of Rawalpindi. The daughter of the former prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was executed in 1977 after being deposed in a coup, was respected in Pakistan for her political commitment – she was jailed multiple times – and her condemnation of militancy and support for Pakistan's poor. But her terms were marred by accusations of widespread corruption involving her and her husband.
She returned to Pakistan under a deal with Mr Musharraf allowing her to take part in upcoming elections, and his supporters point to the deal as proof that he had no objection to her return.
Her assassination set off a wave of protests across the country and helped propel her Pakistan People's party to office and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, to the presidency.
A 2010 United Nations report on the circumstances surrounding her death was highly critical of steps taken by investigators, including the hosing down of the crime scene, the failure to perform an autopsy and their media conference the day following the killing in which they blamed a Taliban commander.
The report also said Mr Musharraf failed to make serious efforts to ensure Bhutto's safety. His supporters have dismissed the report's findings.
The judge set August 27 as the next court date to present evidence.
Mr Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March, after nearly four years outside the country, and vowed to take part in the country's May elections. But he has little popular support in Pakistan and ever since his return has faced a litany of legal problems related to his rule.
His return and legal difficulties have put the military and the newly elected prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, in a delicate position.
Pakistan has undergone three coups since the country's inception in 1947, and the military is considered the most powerful institution.
The military's top leadership is not believed to have supported Mr Musharraf's return from exile but they also would likely not want to see one of their own put behind bars or treated unfairly.
The case is also part of a strange changing of places for Mr Sharif and Mr Musharraf. It was Mr Sharif who was deposed by Mr Musharraf in 1999, and then forced into exile. But he eventually returned to Pakistan, waited out five years in opposition and then led his Pakistan Muslim League-N to a resounding victory in the May 11 elections.
Mr Sharif must tread carefully with the man who once put him in handcuffs. The new prime minister has his plate full of other problems, and pushing aggressively for Mr Musharraf's conviction could force a confrontation with the military that he would prefer to avoid.
In addition to the Bhutto case, Mr Musharraf is involved in a legal suit related to the 2007 detention of judges and the death of a Baluch nationalist leader.
The government is also pursuing a treason case against him in connection with the judges' detention case.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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