Skopje, Macedonia ? Police accused Macedonia’s former interior minister Saturday of ordering the killings of seven Pakistani illegal immigrants he falsely accused of being terrorists to show solidarity with the U.S.-led war on terror.

Six others — including former minister Ljube Boskovski’s three top associates — also were accused in the March 2002 killings.

Boskovski, who oversaw the police, is suspected of ordering the executions after publicly claiming they were a terrorist group planning to attack foreign embassies in Macedonia, said police spokeswoman Mirjana Konteska.

“We believe that Boskovski played the crucial role in this,” Konteska said.

The police charges are the first step in a legal process likely to lead to an official indictment and a trial.