Rawalpindi, Aug 31 (IANS): An Anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi on Thursday declared former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf absconder in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto while acquitting all the five accused arrested in the case.

The court also sentenced former Rawalpindi Central Police Office Saud Aziz and former Rawal Town SP Khurram Shahzad to 17 years each in jail, the news.com.pk reported.

Both the police officials were arrested from the courtroom.

In November 2008, an ATC indicted Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Abdul Rasheed, Rafaqat Hussain and Hasnain Gul for killing, hatching criminal conspiracy to kill, abetting the perpetrators, using illegal explosive material and spreading terrorism on December 27, 2007 when 22 people, including the former Prime Minister, were killed in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh, when she was leaving after attending an election rally.

As the defence and prosecution completed their arguments here on Wednesday, the Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC), Rawalpindi, Judge Muhammad Asghar Khan reserved its verdict in the Benazir Bhutto murder case, which was announced on Thursday.

Benazir Bhutto, who was the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chief and a two-time Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assassinated in a suicide attack at an election campaign rally at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.