ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf knew in advance that then Tehrik-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was plotting the assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto but withheld the information from security agencies, according to The Times of India.

Musharraf, currently living in self-exile in Britain, had "prior knowledge" of the bid of Mehsud -- who later died in a drone attack in the country's tribal belt in August 2009 -- to kill Bhutto but he "withheld this piece of vital information," Dawn News channel quoted its sources in the Federal Investigation Agency as saying.

It did not give details. The sources told the channel that the FIA had informed the Interior Ministry that it had applied for non-bailable arrest warrants for Musharraf to "compel him" to appear before an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi that is conducting the trial of five suspects charged with involvement in the assassination.

Khalid Qureshi , the head of FIA's Joint Investigation Team probing Bhutto's murder, informed the Interior Ministry yesterday that the latest chargesheet submitted in the anti-terrorism court contained 12 charges against former President Musharraf, the channel reported.

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