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ISLAMABAD: The government has allowed the UN commission investigating the assassination of Benazir Bhutto to record statements of Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and other senior military officers.
Informed sources told Dawn that the three-member UN team was given the permission by President Asif Ali Zardari during a meeting at the Presidency on Wednesday.
Immediately after the meeting, DawnNews reported, the team called on ISI’s Director General Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha at the agency’s Islamabad headquarters.
The sources said that military officers had earlier expressed some reservations but they agreed to meet the team after their concerns were addressed.
In January, the government had turned down a request made by the UN panel to record statements of Gen Kayani, who was director general of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) at the time of Bhutto’s assassination, head of Military Intelligence and other military officers.
At Wednesday’s meeting, President Zardari expressed the hope that the UN team would get full cooperation from all institutions concerned. He also asked them if they faced any difficulty in carrying out their work.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Secretary General to President Salman Faruqui and President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar also attended the meeting.
Talking to journalists, Babar quoted the president as saying that the nation awaited the findings of the commission and wanted to know the motive behind the assassination.
“The stature of Bhutto called for an independent, transparent and above-board investigation so that no accusation of bias of any kind could be made by any circle,” the president said.
The terms of reference of the UN Commission clearly say that the commission can interview anyone, including top military and political leaders.
The commission was to submit its report to UN Secretary General in six months, but its mandate was extended by three months. Now the commission is expected to submit its report next month.
The spokesman said that the commission would submit its report to the UN secretary general and also share it with the government of Pakistan.
APP adds: In the evening, the UN commission called on Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani who said that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was a colossal loss to the country, people and the PPP.
He said leaders of her caliber and stature were seldom born. She had the ability, experience and a vision for the betterment of people of developing countries like Pakistan.
Gilani said every possible support and assistance would be extended to the commission in its endeavour to find out facts about her assassination.
Dawn News
Informed sources told Dawn that the three-member UN team was given the permission by President Asif Ali Zardari during a meeting at the Presidency on Wednesday.
Immediately after the meeting, DawnNews reported, the team called on ISI’s Director General Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha at the agency’s Islamabad headquarters.
The sources said that military officers had earlier expressed some reservations but they agreed to meet the team after their concerns were addressed.
In January, the government had turned down a request made by the UN panel to record statements of Gen Kayani, who was director general of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) at the time of Bhutto’s assassination, head of Military Intelligence and other military officers.
At Wednesday’s meeting, President Zardari expressed the hope that the UN team would get full cooperation from all institutions concerned. He also asked them if they faced any difficulty in carrying out their work.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Secretary General to President Salman Faruqui and President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar also attended the meeting.
Talking to journalists, Babar quoted the president as saying that the nation awaited the findings of the commission and wanted to know the motive behind the assassination.
“The stature of Bhutto called for an independent, transparent and above-board investigation so that no accusation of bias of any kind could be made by any circle,” the president said.
The terms of reference of the UN Commission clearly say that the commission can interview anyone, including top military and political leaders.
The commission was to submit its report to UN Secretary General in six months, but its mandate was extended by three months. Now the commission is expected to submit its report next month.
The spokesman said that the commission would submit its report to the UN secretary general and also share it with the government of Pakistan.
APP adds: In the evening, the UN commission called on Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani who said that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was a colossal loss to the country, people and the PPP.
He said leaders of her caliber and stature were seldom born. She had the ability, experience and a vision for the betterment of people of developing countries like Pakistan.
Gilani said every possible support and assistance would be extended to the commission in its endeavour to find out facts about her assassination.
Dawn News
