Benazir murder report not to be shown to PPP CEC

By Ahmad Noorani
ISLAMABAD: The Benazir Bhutto assassination probe report is ready and available with the top PPP leaders but will not be presented to the CEC of the party, which meets on Friday, several PPP leaders confirmed to The News on Thursday.

The report was to be presented during the CEC meeting held on the 3rd anniversary of Benazir’s murder in December 2010 but it was not done because PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto had not reached the country. He arrived a day later.

PPP workers and leaders are waiting anxiously to see the report but there is still no timeframe. The News first approached Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, a close aide of the president, on January 7, 2011 and repeatedly asked him about the different dates when the report would be presented.

His response was: “See, only Rehman Malik, the interior minister, has this report and he has not shared anything with me. As it is your right to ask questions on this count, I will meet him and will get back to you after getting details from Malik.”

On January 26, Abidi responded for the last time that he was anxiously searching the reasons for non-production of the report but had failed in his efforts and would tell The News everything only when he would succeed.

PPP Secretary General Jahangir Badar, giving his version to The News, said that he had stated on the third anniversary of Benazir Bhutto that a special session of the CEC would be called in which this extremely important investigation report would be presented.

“That special session has not been called yet and the Friday’s meeting is a routine meeting of the CEC,” Badar said, adding: “We will make some clear announcement in this regard tomorrow.” He refused to answer any further questions.

Sources said despite extreme anguish among the masses, especially the PPP Jiyalas across the country, the Presidency had decided not to present the secret assassination report in Friday’s CEC. Some CEC members from the Punjab and Sindh confirmed to The News that if the report was not presented, they would press the leadership to do so.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the media that the report had only been seen by him and the president and would soon be presented before the party’s CEC. Rehman, however, did not give a timeframe for the presentation of the report. CEC member from Rawalpindi Qazi Sultan told The News that he was informed about the CEC meeting but was unaware whether this report will be presented. “We the Jiyalas are much more concerned about this report than anyone else,” said Qazi Sultan, admitting that Jiyalas had serious concerns in this regard.

Qazi said: “We know the killers of Benazir and it is a promise of the PPP that the PPP government will hang Benazir’s killers in any case.”

Suspended CEC member Dr Israr Shah told The News that after serving the PPP for 40 years and after rendering all sacrifices, he was sitting at home with no hope of justice.

He accused Brig Ijaz Shah, the then chief of IB and a close aide of Musharraf, of being responsible for Beanzir’s assassination or earlier attacks on July 17, 2007 and October 28, 2007. “Benazir’s letter written in her life is of great importance as it is her opinion,” said Dr Israr Shah, pointing at Benazir’s decision to name the former IB chief as a major threat to her life.

Dr Israr said that if the PPP’s top leadership didn’t present the murder report before the nation immediately, they will lose everything and the Jiyalas will wait no more now.

CEC members Samina Khalid Ghurki and Malik Hakmeen told The News that they were only invited to the meeting and did not know about the presentation of this crucially important report before the CEC.

Malik Hakmeen, however, said that he would talk to The News on the issue of the murder report after the Friday’s CEC meeting.