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Bhutto Killing
Mumbai Attacks
Pak gets second of four AWAC systems
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China steps up renovation of Great Wall
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Bhutto Killing
The government has constituted a three-member committee with a one-point mandate: to investigate the crucial issue of immediate hosing down of the crime scene of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, which led to the destruction of all critical evidence.
The panel has been formed by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani amid criticism that it has not done anything to investigate and identify the killers in the light of UN inquiry commission’s report which raised some nagging questions about the role of the Musharraf government and the present PPP government to vigorously pursue the investigation. Last week President Asif Ali Zardari appeared to be foreclosing the possibility of setting up an independent inquiry commission to conduct a comprehensive probe. He said a special group in the Federal Investigation Bureau (FIA) is already carrying out investigation and that more than 90 per cent people involved the crime have been arrested. The UN Commission in its report has also referred to the FIA inquiry launched in October last year but has raised questions about its credibility. Analysts said the latest step again represents a half hearted approach by the government by ordering inquiry into only one aspect of the tragic episode. They likened it to Musharraf’s attempts to avoid a thorough probe by asking the Scotland Yard to identify the cause of Ms. Bhutto’s death instead of tracing the killers. The UN commission has emphasised that it remains the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to carry out a serious, credible, criminal investigation that determines who conceived, ordered and executed this heinous crime of historic proportions, and brings those responsible to justice. The PM has nominated Cabinet Secretary Abdul Rauf as head of the committee while Vice Chief of General Staff Major General Sajjad Ghani and Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Fayyaz Toru would be its members. The committee has been asked to submit its report within seven days to the prime minister. A spokesman for the Prime Minister, when contacted, regarding sending the report to the chief of the Army Staff said that it would be decided after the completion of the report. “It would be dealt with later. The first thing is the conclusion of the report and presenting it before the prime minister within seven working days,” he said. The decision to constitute the high-level committee, comprising top military and civil administration functionaries, was taken following the release of the UN commission’s report on the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on April 15 this year. The report pointed finger at the ex-Military Intelligence chief Maj-Gen Nadeem Ijaz, for ordering the then Rawalpindi city police officer (CPO), Saud Aziz, to hose down the scene of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination at Liaquat Bagh. Maj-Gen Nadeem, currently serving as the Log Area Commander in Gujranwala after his transfer from the MI some time back, was believed to be extremely close to Pervez Musharraf and was reputed to be his ‘key adviser’ on all national issues. Another source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the CPO was ordered to hose down the scene by Major General Nadeem Ijaz Ahmad, the then Director General of MI. Others, including three police officials, told the Commission that CPO Saud Aziz did not act independently and that “everyone knows” who ordered the hosing down. The sources at the relevant corners said the committee had been given the mandate to interrogate Maj-Gen Nadeem Ijaz and other intelligence agency officers. The committee would record statements of the police officials responsible for the security of Benazir Bhutto and the personnel of fire fighting unit, who hosed down the crime scene.
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Mumbai Attacks
Islamabad, April 25 Pakistan's request for access to Kasab was contained in its response to the three Indian dossiers provided to it during the February 25 Foreign Secretary-level talks in New Delhi, official sources said. It asked India to hand over Kasab to facilitate the trial of LeT's operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six others charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks, in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court. The Pakistani response was handed over by Foreign Office officials to Indian Deputy High Commissioner Rahul Kulshreshth this morning. Officials at the Indian High Commission confirmed the handing over of certain information by the Foreign Office but declined to provide details. Other sources said Pakistan had formally asked India to serve arrest warrants issued by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court for Kasab and Fahim Ansari, an Indian national facing trial along with Kasab in a special court in Mumbai on charges of involvement in the attacks. The sources said Pakistan wanted access to Kasab and Ansari so that they could appear before the Pakistani anti-terrorism court, which was a legal requirement. Observers said Pakistan's actions appeared to be aimed at ensuring a meeting between Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the April 28-29 SAARC summit in Bhutan. Both sides have indicated that a bilateral meeting has not yet been scheduled but kept the possibility of such an encounter open. The Pakistani side also made a request for three Indian officials, including two magistrates and an investigator, to be allowed to travel to Pakistan to testify that they had recorded Kasab's statement.
— PTI
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Pak gets second of four AWAC systems
Islamabad, April 25 A statement issued by the Pakistan Air Force said the Saab-2000 aircraft landed at an operational base yesterday and would shortly be inducted into the fleet. Two more Saab-2000 aircraft equipped with the Erieye radar system are expected to be delivered to Pakistan by Sweden later this year. The Dawn newspaper quoted an unnamed official as saying that the Erieye radar system mounted on the turboprop aircraft will enable the PAF to detect “all aircraft taking off and landing at all forward Indian airbases near Pakistan” and to identify the type of the aircraft, their weapons systems and their direction of flight. — PTI
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10 killed as tornado strikes US
Yazoo City (Mississippi), April 25
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn said five persons were killed in Choctaw County, including two children. Four victims were in Yazoo County and one was in Holmes County. Gov Haley Barbour said there was "utter obliteration" in parts of Yazoo County, an area known for cotton, catfish, blues music and picturesque hills rising abruptly from the flat Mississippi Delta. More than 15 other counties were also damaged. The swath of debris forced rescuers to pick up some of the injured on all-terrain vehicles the west-central part of the state. Tornadoes were also reported in Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama, and the severe weather continued to track eastward.
— AP
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China steps up renovation of Great Wall
Beijing, April 25 The oldest section of the Great Wall's, one of the seven wonders of the world was built between 770 BC to 476 BC in the ancient state of Qi, hence the section is often called the Great Wall of Qi. After a seven-month investigation, the 620 km stretch of the Great Wall of Qi from Jinan City, the capital of east China's Shandong province, to Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong was found to be damaged, said archaeologist Li Zhenguang, head of the investigation team. The results laid the foundation for the preservation of the Great Wall of Qi, which had constantly been damaged by local residents, he said.
— PTI
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