Bhutto’s servant under scanner

An absconding servant of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, who aroused suspicion with his “strange gestures” while she was delivering her last address in Rawalpindi last week, could provide a clue to her killing, Pakistan People’s Party workers said.

Khalid Shahinshah, who was hired by Bhutto on the recommendation of her security advisor Rahman Malik, has been on the run ever since footage emerged of the strange gestures he had made while standing on the dais next to Bhutto while she addressed a rally. He was standing on Bhutto’s left during her speech and ran a finger across his throat which implied slitting the throat. Security officials have expressed concern at his “suspicious gestures”.

They told The News that his arrest could “provide answers to many questions”. According to PPP workers, after Bhutto’s speech, Shahinshah was in a rush to get inside her bulletproof vehicle and did not hold the door open for the former premier. TV channels have aired the footage of him making the gestures. After Bhutto’s assassination, Shahinshah stayed at Zardari House, her home in Islamabad, for two days. He did not attend Bhutto’s funeral at her ancestral place and went there only on the third day after her death, The News reported.