WASHINGTON — Two months ago, Benazir Bhutto complained to an old friend about an inadequate security detail, even as the death threats against her mounted.
On Thursday, that e-mail read like an accusation from the grave.
“If anything happens to me, make sure fir is filed against Musharraf,” she had implored longtime friend Mark Siegel in the Oct. 26 message, which is uncorrected here for spelling or grammar.
“Nothing will, God willing, happen. Just wanted u to know if it does in addition to the names in my letter to Musharaf of Oct. 16th, I wld hold Musharaf responsible.”
Siegel had forwarded the e-mail to three people, including his former boss, U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., asking them to keep its contents secret unless Bhutto was assassinated. On Thursday, after Bhutto was killed at a campaign rally, Israel went public with the e-mail’s contents and called for a suspension of U.S. aid to Pakistan until an independent investigation is done.
“I believe that Benazir Bhutto knew that something horrible would befall her, and this was her way of making sure the world knew who was responsible,” Israel said.
In her e-mails, Bhutto refers to an Oct. 16 letter she had written to Musharraf containing the names of people who she feared might kill her.
“I have been made to feel insecure by his minions,” she wrote.
Siegel said that after an Oct. 19 attempt on her life in Karachi, Bhutto asked Musharraf to let the FBI and Scotland Yard investigate. He refused.
“He put people in charge of the investigation who were her political enemies,” Siegel said. “She asked for certain security arrangements, and he denied them. Her e-mails speak for themselves.”
