Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday claimed that Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zardari was responsible for the murder of Benazir Bhutto, the country’s first female prime minister and Zardari’s wife, Geo News reported.

In a video message, Musharraf claimed Zardari was the “one person who benefited from Benazir’s assassination”. He said in murder cases, the individual “who benefits the most out of it” should be checked first. “In this case, I had everything to lose as I was in power, and the murder put my government in a difficult situation,” he added.

The former Pakistani Army chief also questioned why Zardari did not “actively investigate” his wife’s assassination despite being the country’s president for five years. He made the statements in a video address to Bhutto and Zardari’s three children – Bilawal, Aseefa and Bakhtawar. “The only reason was that he himself was the killer.”

In August, a special anti-terrorism court in Pakistan had declared Musharraf an absconder in the assassination case and ordered authorities to seize his property. It also acquitted five others and sentenced two senior police officers to 17 years in prison.

Bhutto, Pakistan’s 11th prime minister was assassinated during an election campaign event on December 27, 2007, in Rawalpindi. Musharraf was the president at the time.