Rehman Malik’s U Turn
According to this report in Dawn Rehman Malik has removed Hamid Gul from the Exit Control List saying that he “personally thinks that Hamid Gul was not involved in Benazir Bhutto’s murder”.
Rehman Malik is already under suspicion himself due to his unexplained behaviour during the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. By removing Hamid Gul’s name from ECL and giving him “clean chit” on the basis of his own feelings, Rehman Malik is simply making himself look guilty. This action is indefensible and PPP supporters deserve an explanation.
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I agree, Rabia.
As I earlier wrote: One suspect is helping another suspect. Both of them must be nominated in a formal FIR and investigated by a competent (God fearing, not ISI fearing) police officer.
I personally think that Rehman Malik demonstrated (a) cowardice, and (b) lack of leadership skills on that day.
Here are some relevant excerpts from the UN report:
64. Mr Asif Ali Zardari, Ms Bhutto’s husband, was deeply involved in planning Ms Bhutto’s security for her return to Pakistan. Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari relied to a significant extent on persons close to them to plan and organize the PPP’s security for her. They included former senior FIA official Mr Rehman Malik and Sindh PPP leaders Mr Zulfikar Ali Mirza and Mr Agha Sirraj Durrani.
87. ….Riding in the black Mercedes-Benz car were the driver, PPP official Mr Faratullah Babar in the front passenger seat and, in the rear passenger seat from left to right, two PPP officials Mr Babar Awan and Mr Rehman Malik and General (ret) Tauqir Zia.
236. While the PPP did not bear responsibility for Ms Bhutto’s security, its own provision of security was characterized by disorganization and a lack of professionalism. Each senior PPP official the Commission spoke with on this issue described the PPP security arrangements differently. Even though Mr Rehman Malik claimed that he was not an adviser on physical security, the letters he wrote to authorities, and his liaison role with security and intelligence agencies shows that he was deeply involved in the overall management of Ms Bhutto’s security. His departure from the scene at Rawalpindi after the attack allowed her damaged vehicle to become isolated. The rapid departure of the only back up vehicle, in which Mr Malik and other senior PPP leaders rode, was a serious security lapse. After moving a safe distance away from the scene of the attack, the occupants of the vehicle should have waited to see for themselves if Ms Bhutto’s vehicle was able to depart safely
and if there was a need for a back up vehicle. As the back-up, their vehicle would have been a necessary part of the convoy whether Ms Bhutto’s vehicle was damaged or not.
237. Major Imtiaz did not provide leadership after the attack, although he was assigned to the team precisely for this reason. It is understandable that others in the vehicle would be overwhelmed by the shock of the attack, but as the lead security professional in the vehicle, he would have been expected to provide leadership at that critical moment.
95. The public gathering concluded and, at about 1710 hours, Ms Bhutto descended the wooden stairs and entered her Land Cruiser. The occupants of the Land Cruiser and their seating positions were the same as for the trip in to Liaquat Bagh. The composition of passengers in the black Mercedes-Benz car also remained the same.
96. The black bullet-proof Mercedes-Benz car was the first to leave the parking area. It is not clear how much distance there was between this vehicle and the rest of Ms Bhutto’s convoy at the moment of the blast. Credible reports range from 100 meters to 250 meters. Some of those in the car said that they were close enough to Ms Bhutto’s vehicle to feel the impact of the blast. Others at the site of the blast have said that the Mercedes-Benz left Liaquat Bagh so quickly that it was nowhere to be seen when the blast occurred. Indeed, the Commission has not seen this vehicle in the many video images of the exit area it reviewed. Despite the acknowledgement of some occupants of the vehicle that they felt the impact of the blast, the Commission finds it incredible that they drove all the way to Zardari House, a drive of about 20 minutes, before they became aware that Ms Bhutto had been injured in the blast. They should have stopped at a safe distance when they felt the blast so as to check on Ms Bhutto’s condition, the condition of her vehicle and whether the back-up vehicle was required. Indeed, as the back-up vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz car would have been an essential element of Ms Bhutto’s convoy on the return trip even if the occupants of that car had confirmed that Ms Bhutto had been unscathed in the attack.
However, the UN report also notes that:
63. The PPP is a political party, not a security agency. The responsibility for Ms Bhutto’s security rested with the governme nt.
The PPP provided additional security for Ms. Bhutto. The Commission recognizes
the heroism of individual PPP supporters, many of whom sacrificed themselves to
protect her; however, the additional security arrangements of the PPP lacked
leadership and were inadequate and poorly executed. (p.2)
vii. The additional security arrangements of the PPP lacked leadership and were inadequate and poorly executed. The Commission recognizes the heroism of individual PPP supporters, many of whom sacrificed themselves to protect Ms Bhutto. However, Ms Bhutto was left vulnerable in a severely damaged vehicle that was unable to transport her to the hospital by the irresponsible and hasty departure of the bullet-proof Mercedes-Benz which, as the back-up vehicle, was an essential part of her convoy. (p.61)
shocking and disturbing .
i’m still optimistic as Benazir Bhutto herself wrote in her book ” her death will act as catalyst for a change”. and i believe change is not far.
I agree Rabia. It’s not Rehman Malik’s personal matter that he is giving clean chit on his own. This is the case of whole Nation we need the explanation and we need the head of BB Shaheed’s murderers.
http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1100920145&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20100423
He is rebirth of and playing the part of Naseerullah Babar played in Bhutto and BiBi’s Govt.
AAZ said to the journalists that 90% of BiBI murder suspects have been arrested…someone can enlighten how it’s right..
They are using Saud Aziz as a scapegoat in this case…he is involved but one who made the orders is avoided…
There should have been an investigation before giving one of the accused, a clean chit. This nation demands the accused to be punished; no amnesty should be given to anyone, either favorite of one group or the other.
Try to be truthful, Mr Co-Chairman. Or perhaps you mean 90% of foot-soldiers?
Here is the news item:
……….
90% of Benazir’s murder suspects arrested: Zardari
* President says action against those accused of washing crime scene underway
* Unveils string of projects for South Punjab
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that “a special group” is investigating the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and about “90 percent” of those accused have been arrested, while action continues against those who washed the crime scene at Liaquat Bagh, a private TV channel reported on Thursday.
The president was addressing senior journalists and columnists from Bahawalpur and Multan – who called on him in Ashrafabad.
Zardari said the decision to approach the UN for an investigation into the assassination of Benazir was not made by him: “the Senate, the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies decided to approach the world body for an impartial probe”. The president said his government had empowered parliament. He said the demand for a new province of Bahawalpur needed to be taken up by parliament in line with the constitution.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of ‘Benazir Smart Card’ in Bahawalpur, Zardari said the Pakistan People’s Party-led government had proven critics wrong by transferring presidential powers. “We want to rule the hearts of the people,” he said. “I did not hold on to the presidential powers and transferred them.”
He said Bahawalpur was “neglected for 60 years … no projects were launched here, but the prime minister is now from the south, and the government is launching a number of development schemes in the area”. He said projects would be undertaken in Bahawalpur from a federally-funded special package of Rs 10 billion. Zardari also announced scholarships, including 100 for Islamia University and 500 for students of information technology. He said water issues in Bahawalpur would be resolved, as a lack of rains added to economic difficulties.
Addressing a convention of representatives, office-bearers and the leadership of the People’s Youth Organisation (PYO), the People’s Students Federation (PSF) and the People’s Labour Bureau (PLB) from Multan, Bahawalpur and DG Khan in Ashrafabad, the president reiterated his government’s resolve to address the problems facing the common man. He said the current government was developing a new relationship with the world, including the US, China and Europe. Zardari also unveiled a string of development projects for South Punjab.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\04\23\story_23-4-2010_pg7_1
@Abdul Nishapuri 90% arrested?
Musharraf was hostile when he telephoned Benazir: Siegel
* BB’s confidante says Musharraf offered to drop charges against Zardari if she quit politics for 10 years
* Former premier emailed him asking whom to hold accountable after October 18 incident
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf was hostile and had a confrontational discussion with former premier Benazir Bhutto before her return to Pakistan, a private TV channel quoted Benazir’s close friend and adviser Mark Siegel on Friday.
Siegel said Musharraf had telephoned her when she was with him in the US to discuss her return to Pakistan. He said Benazir later told him about the conversation saying Musharraf confronted her, as he did not want her to return to Pakistan.
“It wasn’t a very good conversation. He was very confrontational. He seems to be very hostile. He didn’t want her to return,” Siegel said. “She made it clear that she was returning and the preparations were underway for her return.”
Strike a deal: Siegel said right after the 2002 general elections, Musharraf offered Benazir a deal for dropping charges against President Asif Ali Zardari, releasing him from prison and giving him a ministry of his choice if she agreed to bid goodbye to politics for the next 10 years.
He said Benazir was sitting with him when Zardari telephoned her from prison and told her he had been offered a deal. “He (Zardari) said he won’t accept the deal under any conditions and would rather spend the rest of his life in jail,” Siegel said describing his relations with Zardari.
Email: Moreover, he said Benazir had sent him an email after the October 18 attack in Karachi, asking what she should do and whom to hold accountable if something happened to her. “Even though I was stunned at her death, I knew I had to continue doing what she told me to,” he said. “No matter how devastated I felt, I had to go forward and that’s when I released that email to CNN.”
He did not elaborate on the email, but said it asked him to hold Musharraf responsible in addition to those mentioned in her October 16 letter to the military ruler via the UAE embassy in Pakistan. He said her email talked about threats to her life and the denial of security she had asked for. Siegel said he had also asked the US government to directly ask Musharraf for Benazir’s security.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\04\24\story_24-4-2010_pg7_5
Who the hell is Rahman Malik to give clean chits to the bastards like Hameed Gul. It is the people of Pakistan who lost their leader, not that Rahman lost one of his relative. He should shut up. He always seem to me too much afraid of ISI. I hate him from the time he has been accusing India all the time for the Taliban. What rubbish he is speaking. And now he calls Hameed Gul of all the men to assure him of no action? This is ridiculous. What makes him show this respect to Hameed?
Just 3 days “chirol ” Hameed gul will say all the truth ,He would accept the killing of Bainazir .Also He is actually a main culprit of all Jihadi and Talibani Show in Pakistan .I think Army has agreed not to interfere each other business ,One army group is supporting Terrorism and other is killing them .Head of Taliban Pakistan is not Hakeem Ullah Mehsoud ,it is Hameed Gul
Fact-finding body: hopelessly inadequate
By Nasim Zehra
In a surprise development, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has set up a three-member “fact-finding committee” to look into only one element of the complex and tragic mystery of the assassination of Pakistan’s leading political leader and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto.
The decision is disappointing because it falls short of the expectations of Pakistanis for a criminal investigation commission to determine the killers of the former prime minister, after the April 15 submission of the UN commission’s inquiry report.
The decision to set up this three-member civil-military fact-finding committee is not surprising. It is a result of the April 23 meeting between Gilani and Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Kayani: the army chief asked the prime minister to set up such a committee with the mandate to determine “whether the then Military Intelligence (MI) director general gave an order to police officials to wash/clean the crime scene of the murder”. According to the UN report, CPO Saud Aziz did not independently decide to hose down the scene of the crime, and was rather ordered by then MI chief Maj Gen Nadeem Ijaz Ahmad to do so.
Maj Gen Nadeem Ijaz, known to be related to former president Parvez Musharraf’s wife, is a controversial general. Currently, he serves in Gujranwala as a logistics area commander. He was singled out during General Musharraf’s regime as the man involved in the decision-making that led to several major blunders, including the killing of Akbar Bugti and the removal of the chief justice of Pakistan.
The reason for the army chief stepping in and requesting that this committee be set up and file its report within seven working days is to try and prevent his institution’s name from getting sullied. Foremost, the committee would settle the question of the former MI and now a serving major general’s involvement in destroying precious evidence.
However, the commission’s report implicates, directly or indirectly, the establishment and intelligence agencies in Benazir’s assassination and, subsequently, hindering, stalling and prejudicing the investigation. Names of two other ISI officials – now retired major general Nusrat Naeem and a brigadier – have also figured in the report. Their definitive role in the post-assassination hospital scene is yet to be determined. But following the commission’s report the media is raising questions about the role of the establishment and the army and its agencies. While other officials named in the report were removed from their current posts, no action was taken against the only serving major general – Gen Nadeem Ijaz, who has been named in the report.
Significantly, whether this three-person committee with a seven-day deadline can answer the very crucial question of Maj Gen Nadeem Ijaz’s involvement and, in the process, not throw up additional questions begging more answers is unclear.
What, however, is clear that while the army chief is keen to put to rest speculations, accusations and conspiracies related to his institution, the government and the ruling party is in no mood to expedite the process of determining the killers of their own leader. The PPP leadership’s position – as articulated by the president and the prime minister and several others – is that the case currently being heard by a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court and the investigation being conducted by the FIA’s joint investigation team since July 2009 would continue. Interestingly, hardly any facts on the work of the FIA team are publicly known.
The government and the party leadership’s positions, endorsed at the recently-held meeting of the PPP core committee, is that these two parallel processes are sufficient. Meanwhile, a section of the PPP leadership, especially those somewhat alienated from the current leadership, is demanding that the government set up a fresh criminal inquiry committee.
There are numerous compelling questions that have resurfaced after the April 15 reports: they range from why sufficient security was not provided by the federation and the province, why the PPP’s own security became so lax, why two key men – Rehman Malik and Babar Awan – took off with Benazir’s backup car, why Musharraf insisted a press conference be held within 24 hours and hold the lever responsible for the death of the former prime minister and why police failed to provide the security cordons planned for Benazir’s exit to why was the scene of the crime washed when, for the investigation into an attack on Musharraf, the place of the crime was cordoned off for several days.
These are questions that must be answered. Leaving them unanswered expands the circle of suspicion and conspiracy around the assassination of Benazir, implicating even the PPP’s own leadership. The PPP government must set up a high-powered, time-bound criminal investigation inquiry committee to determine the planners and killers of Benazir. Based on the report of this committee, the government can submit a supplementary challan naming additional suspects in the case.
In the coming days and weeks, there would be additional political and moral pressure on the government and the party leadership to set up a criminal investigation committee. Refusing to do so is likely to prompt the Supreme Court to take suo motu action on the follow-up needed for the UN commission’s report – which says that “it remains the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to launch a serious credible criminal investigation … and bring those responsible to justice”. The UN commission has not helped in implicating or clearing the names of any individuals. The need is an investigation committee that would, through the process of elimination, clear the names of the PPP’s own leadership and help place the blame where it belongs.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20104\25\story_25-4-2010_pg1_7
You all ought to be ashamed of yourself. Source of terrorism around globe. A hub for criminal minds. All evil points toward Pakistan. Shame.