UN report on BB murder

[pkd]

UN to present Benazir Inquiry Commission report today
Updated at: 1950 PST, Tuesday, March 30, 2010
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will Tuesday share with the Pakistani government the findings of an independent commission, which has completed its examination of facts and circumstances behind the December 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The Secretary General will present the report to Pakistani Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, sources said. The Commission of Inquiry began its work in July 2009 and undertook visits to Pakistan.

All UN offices in Pakistan will close for three days as a security precaution with the world body to release a report on the assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

"Offices are going to be closed for the next three days. All UN offices in the country," spokeswoman Ishrat Rizvi informed, saying that staff are being advised to work from home.

"It's a precautionary measure to avoid any unwanted situation that may occur after the publication of this report, for the safety and security of staff members," she added.

The three-member Commission, was headed by Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz and also comprises Marzuki Darusman, the former attorney -general of Indonesia, and Peter Fitzgerald, a veteran of the Irish National Police who has also served the UN in a number of capacities.

During their visit to Pakistan, members of the commission met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other senior Government officials and civil society members.

The commission was set up following a request from the Government of Pakistan and originally its term was to have ended on December 31, 2009 but was extended to March 31, 2010.

According to UN, Ban will also submit the findings to the Security Council for information.
UN to present Benazir Inquiry Commission report today

 

[Skeptic]

UN delays release of Bhutto slaying report

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations said Tuesday it would delay the release of a report into the assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto until April 15 at the request of Islamabad.

“The secretary general has accepted an urgent request by the president of Pakistan to delay the presentation of the report... until April 15,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told a press briefing.

A UN-appointed independent panel, which began its investigations last July into Bhutto's killing in December 2007, had been due to submit its findings to UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday.

The report by the panel “is now complete and ready to be delivered,”Nesirky said.

He added the report would be made public, but would not be shown to the Pakistani government before April 15. Ban himself had not yet read the document, he said.

Earlier, a UN spokeswoman in Islamabad said all UN offices in Pakistan would close for three days from Wednesday as a security precaution taken in connection with the release of Bhutto report.

“Offices are going to be closed for the next three days. All UN offices in the country,” spokeswoman Ishrat Rizvi told AFP on Tuesday, saying staff were being advised to work from home in a bid to avoid any possible fallout.

“It's a precautionary measure to avoid any unwanted situation that may occur after the publication of this report, for the safety and security of staff members,” she added.

 

[SSGPA1]

Zardari will be named a sa suspect ??

 

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

U.N. Bhutto Assassination Inquiry Report Delayed

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has accepted an urgent request from Pakistan to delay presentation of a U.N. report on the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the world body said on Tuesday.

The report on a nine-month inquiry by a three-person U.N. panel, was originally due to be presented by Wednesday, but Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari requested it be delayed until April 15, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Nesirky gave no reason for the Pakistani request.

The panel, headed by Chile's U.N. Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, looked into the circumstances surrounding the attack that killed Bhutto after an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi city on December 27, 2007.

Nesirky told reporters that the report was completed and was ready for delivery. But he said neither Secretary-General Ban nor the Pakistani government had seen it.

Ban set up the panel at the request of Pakistan's coalition government, led by Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party.

The previous government, headed by allies of former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf, blamed then Pakistani Taliban leader and al Qaeda ally Baitullah Mehsud for Bhutto's murder. Mehsud was killed in a U.S. drone strike last August.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/03/30/world/international-uk-pakistan-bhutto-un.html?_r=2

 

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

Bhutto Assassination Report Delayed by United Nations

By Peter S. Green

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- A United Nations report on the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will be held back two weeks at the request of Pakistan’s president, a United Nations spokesman said today.

The report by an independent commission was to have been released today. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon received a request overnight from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto’s widower, to delay the report until April 15, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said today in New York.

“The commission has completed its work; the report is ready to be delivered,” Nesirky said. “The intention is that the report will not be seen by the government of Pakistan” before its release.

Nesirky said he was looking into reports that UN offices in Pakistan had been ordered to shut for fear the report’s release could provoke retaliation.

Bhutto, a two-time former prime minister, was killed in a suicide bombing at a rally of her Pakistan Peoples Party in Rawalpindi on Dec. 27, 2007. Her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, was elected president in 2008.

Zardari pressed for a UN probe even after London’s Metropolitan Police said its investigation showed Bhutto died from a head injury sustained when the force of the blast threw her against her vehicle’s sunroof. The report rejected allegations that she was shot dead.

No Autopsy

No autopsy was performed on Bhutto’s body, and the crime scene was cleaned shortly after her death, prompting suspicions of a cover-up and Zardari’s demand for the UN investigation.

The government last year asked Ban to “establish an international commission for the purpose of identifying the culprits, perpetrators, organizers and financiers behind the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto with a view to bring them to justice.”

Ban decided instead on a “fact-finding” panel.

A spokesman for Pakistan’s UN mission said he had no information on why his government asked to delay the report.

Bhutto Assassination Report Delayed by United Nations (Update1) - BusinessWeek

 

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

U.N. delays Bhutto assassination report

The submission of the much-awaited report of the United Nations fact-finding Commission on the assassination of the former Pakistan Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, has been delayed by a fortnight on the “urgent request” of President Asif Ali Zardari.

This was confirmed here late on Tuesday night by the United Nations country spokesperson Ishrat Rizvi. She said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accepted the request of the President. The report would now be submitted on April 15.

Maintaining that the President did not make any “urgent request,” his spokesman Farhatullah Babar said a request was made to the U.N. to delay the report till the panel got inputs from all three heads of government, who had separately warned Ms. Bhutto about a clear and present threat to her life just ahead of her assassination.

According to Mr. Babar, the three heads of government separately warned Ms. Bhutto personally that they had credible information about threat to her life. While he refused to name them, he said it was important that the Commission included their inputs in the report as they appeared to have access to credible information.

Till date, the Commission received a report from only one of the three heads of government and the other two were expected to send in their inputs shortly, Mr. Babar said.

This is the second time that the submission of the report on the December 2007 assassination has been delayed. After agreeing to the Pakistan government's request to initiate an independent investigation in July 2008, the Secretary-General set up a three-member commission under Chile Ambassador to the U. N. Heraldo Munoz. It was to have submitted its report on December 31, 2009.

However, the Commission — mandated to identify the facts and circumstances of the assassination — sought a three-month extension.
Confirmation of the submission of the report being further delayed came round about the time when it was to be presented to the Secretary-General.


The Hindu : News / International : U.N. delays Bhutto assassination report

 

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

Benazir Bhutto assassination report delayed
A long-awaited United Nations report into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was delayed just hours before its scheduled release.

The report, withheld at the request of Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Mrs Bhutto’s widower, follows a nine-month inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the killing.

Pakistan’s former prime minister was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack during an election campaign as she left a rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

No reason was given for yesterday’s postponement.

The previous government, led by allies of former President Pervez Musharraf, had blamed Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud for the assassination. He was killed in a US drone strike last August.

The trials of several Islamist militants charged in connection with the assassination are ongoing.

Benazir Bhutto assassination report delayed - Telegraph

 

[third eye]

Wonder whats in store ?

DAWN.COM | World | UN delays release of Bhutto slaying report


UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations said Tuesday it would delay the release of a report into the assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto until April 15 at the request of Islamabad.

“The secretary general has accepted an urgent request by the president of Pakistan to delay the presentation of the report... until April 15,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told a press briefing.

A UN-appointed independent panel, which began its investigations last July into Bhutto's killing in December 2007, had been due to submit its findings to UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday.

The report by the panel “is now complete and ready to be delivered,”Nesirky said.

He added the report would be made public, but would not be shown to the Pakistani government before April 15. Ban himself had not yet read the document, he said.

Earlier, a UN spokeswoman in Islamabad said all UN offices in Pakistan would close for three days from Wednesday as a security precaution taken in connection with the release of Bhutto report.

“Offices are going to be closed for the next three days. All UN offices in the country,” spokeswoman Ishrat Rizvi told AFP on Tuesday, saying staff were being advised to work from home in a bid to avoid any possible fallout.

“It's a precautionary measure to avoid any unwanted situation that may occur after the publication of this report, for the safety and security of staff members,” she added.—AFP

 

[third eye]

BBC News - UN report on death of Benazir Bhutto delayed

UN report on death of Benazir Bhutto delayed

A United Nations report into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has been delayed at Pakistan's request.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon accepted a postponement until 15 April hours before its scheduled release.

Pakistan's former prime minister was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack during an election campaign as she left a rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

The country's information minister said the delay was requested so two former heads of state could give their input.

Qamar Zaman Kaira said the two unnamed officials had warned Mrs Bhutto her life might be in danger and "could be helpful to the commission in finding who was behind her assassination".

Security alert

A UN spokesman, Martin Nesirky, confirmed the report had been finished and that neither the UN secretary general nor the Pakistani government had seen it.

The report, withheld at the request of Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari - Mrs Bhutto's widower - follows a nine-month inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the killing.

The three-person inquiry team was led by Chile's ambassador to the UN, Heraldo Munoz.

It also includes Marzuki Darusman, the former Indonesian attorney-general, and Peter Fitzgerald, who led an early inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The panel was set up following a request from Pakistan's coalition government, led by Mrs Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party.

The previous government, led by allies of former President Pervez Musharraf, had blamed Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud for the assassination. He was killed in a US drone strike last August.

The trials of several Islamist militants charged in connection with the assassination are ongoing.

Mrs Bhutto was the first woman to become prime minister of a Muslim country. No post-mortem examination was held following her death.

Before the delay was announced, a UN spokeswoman in Islamabad was quoted by AFP news agency as saying that all of the organisation's offices in the country would close for three days from Wednesday "to avoid any unwanted situation" related to the report's publication.

It was unclear whether any closure would now go ahead.

 

[VrSoLdIeRs]

something is definitely fishy!!!

 

[Awesome]

This really stinks...

 

[sparklingway]

Why Zardari delayed UN report

Thursday, April 01, 2010
By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Zardari is said to have quietly given names of four international personalities - US ex-secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Saudi Arabia intelligence chief Prince Muqrin and the UAE intelligence chief - to the UN inquiry commission to ask them: How did they know the secret in advance that Benazir Bhutto would be killed?

The UN commission has now been asked to first meet these four indirect witnesses before submitting its report on Benazir Bhutto assassination. With this new information, two and a half years old mystery also finally stands resolved that which two friendly countries had actually warned BB about attack on her life before she decided to return to Pakistan on October 18, 2007.

These two countries were the UAE and Saudi Arabia, whose intelligence agencies chiefs had actually warned the PPP chairperson against threats to her life. Generally, it was believed that apart from the UAE, the second friendly country was Iran. But now it has been revealed that this was Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Prince Muqran bin Abdul Aziz who had warned the former prime minister about threats to her life.

After receiving the names of four new indirect witnesses from Islamabad, the UN inquiry team was making contacts with all of them to seek explanations from them as how did they already knew threats to BB’s life.

The sources said President Zardari believed that inside information to be shared by these four personalities might greatly help the inquiry commission to identify the real killers whose secret plans somehow reached the intelligence agencies of Afghanistan, the USA, UAE and Saudi Arabia, and which turned to be prophetically correct.

One top sources claimed that this was the main reasons which had delayed release of UN inquiry commission report after President Zardari gave names of these four top people to the UN commission through Pakistan permanent representative in at the UN Hussain Haroon. Haroon held extensive talks with the UN team in New York to convince them as to why it was important to interview these four personalities.

Talking to The News, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar confirmed that this was true that the Pakistan government wanted three friendly countries to share their information with the UN. But he did not name any country or drop any hint about the country which was being asked to share the intelligence.

He said: “We want comments of three friendly foreign governments which had warned Benazir Bhutto of plots to assassinate her around time of her return included in the UN report. One foreign country government has shared its perspective with the UN commission. We hope the other two governments will also share their perspective. That hopefully will help the commission in its task. Hence the two weeks delay,” he said.

However, Babar did not deny the names of three countries and former US secretary of state as revealed in this news report. Meanwhile, sources said President Zardari was not satisfied with the UN report into the killing of Benazir Bhutto after he came to know that quite surprisingly, the otherwise high level commission which was paid over half a billion rupees by the Government of Pakistan to meet its expenses, did not contact these four high profile international personalities, who at different occasions had warned Benazir Bhutto about threats to her life before she returned to Pakistan.

The sources said Zardari knew the information given by these four personalities to Benazir Bhutto as none other than BB herself kept her spouse on board about these warnings so that he should know what sort of information were coming from which corner of the world. Later, she had also told Zardari after meeting Hamid Karzai in Islamabad, hours before her assassination, that he had informed her that his country intelligence agency too had information about the possible attack on her life.

The sources said President Zardari was of the view that these four personalities who knew about possibility of threats to life of Benazir were in a good position to help the UN commission to know from where they all got the information and what were their sources.

The sources said the information shared by these four personalities with BB was not an ordinary thing to ignore. They said the arguments given by the Pak envoy at the UN was mulled over by the commission and they decided to delay the report till interviewing these four witnesses.

When asked about the inclusion of name of Hamid Karzai in the list of witnesses, sources said actually just few hours before her assassination on December 27, 2007, Benazir Bhutto was informed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai about threats to her life. Also the former two-time prime minister was also warned that her meeting with the Afghan president, just few days before the elections, could create more troubles for her. Now President Zardari wanted the commission to ask more questions from Karzai.

Likewise, the sources said Condoleezza Rice was also a potential witness because the US had provided a steady stream of intelligence to Benazir Bhutto about threats against her and advised her aides on how to boost security. The source said senior US diplomats had multiple conversations, including at least two private face-to-face meetings, with top members of the Pakistan People’s Party to discuss threats on her life and review her security arrangements after a suicide bombing marred her initial return to Pakistan from exile in October, 2007. The intelligence was also shared with the Pakistani government.

An American intelligence officer was quoted soon after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto that she knew people were trying to assassinate her. One official said now Ms Rice would be asked point blank to respond that how she knew that Benazir Bhutto life was under threat and she would be killed. The intelligence agency chiefs of the UAE and Saudi Arabia would also face similar questions from the commission as this might resolve the mystery that who had killed Benazir Bhutto and what were their sources of information.

 

[ajpirzada]

gud it has been delayed. let this constitutional package get approved first then we will open this new Pandora box.

 

[VrSoLdIeRs]

^^ we are never shot of them are we?? :p

 

[pak-marine]

wonder what are they invetigating about bb's murder .. how ? when ? who ? or all ?