|
WHY
IS MUSHARRAF GOVERNMENT RESISTING U.N. INVESTIGATION INTO BHUTTO'S KILLING?
by MASOOD HAIDER:
10/01/08
(MaximsNews Network)
UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 10
January 2007 --
Calls for a United Nations-led probe into the assassination
of Benazir Bhutto grow louder, but the Pakistan government, which initially
rejected any
investigation into the murder by outside agencies, has now relented and
under
pressure, President Musharraf has reluctantly allowed Scotland Yard to sift
the facts, given the conflicting and at times confusing versions of the tragic
incident by the government.
Finally,
he also conceded that Ms Bhutto could have been killed by a bullet instead of
a bomb as his government had claimed. But Musharraf is totally unwilling to
allow United Nations to send a investigation team.
Since
Ms Bhutto's killing, Musharraf has successfully persuaded Washington and its
European allies not to press for an independent investigation into a crime
that Bhutto's family suspects included some elements of his government.
The
lack of interest shown by the UN Security Council to take up Ms. Bhutto's case
smacks of double standards, many Pakistanis say.
At
this press conference on 07 January, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that any
request for U.N. investigation must come from the government of
Pakistan.
How
can a government, which is accused of being complicit in the case, opt for
seeking U.N.'s involvement. Such a move could possibly undermine the
government intelligence agencies and many top officials, including Musharraf
himself, could face
interrogations.
In
2005 following the murder of Lebanese Premier Rafik Harriri, the United
Nations Security Council bandied together and appointed an inquiry body to
look into the murder.
A
similar action in case of Pakistan could also initiated, but western powers
are not pressing as they did in case of Lebanon. In the Hariri case, they
hoped to get to Syria, one of the countries President Bush grouped in the
so-called Axis of Evil.
Meanwhile
the Bush administration officials denied playing favourites with Pakistan.
Jackie Wolcott, a senior U.S. diplomat, told reporters at the United Nations
that in the case of the Harriri assassination, the Lebanese had made a formal
request for a U.N. investigation. "In this case, as far as I know, that
has not happened," she said.
Pakistan's
government's own actions raise suspicions. Most in Pakistan believe that the
haste with which the government functionaries ordered cleanup of the crime
scene was indicative of its complicity.
Here
I would like to recall a conversation which a group journalists had with Ms.
Naheed Khan, perhaps the closest confidant of Ms Bhutto who accompanied her
everywhere on the campaign trail. (This could perhaps shed some light as to
why PPP leadership thinks a UN investigation is warranted.)
Ms
Bhutto fell in the lap of Ms. Naheed Khan after she waved to the cheering
crowds to bid farewell. Ms. Khan was one of the three people sitting in
the Toyota land cruiser-- others being party's Vice President Mukdoom Amin Fahim, the
driver and a security guard.
As
Ms. Bhutto fell, Ms. Khan said she did not utter a word and she immediately
realized that she was gone.
"I
was drenched in Ms. Bhutto blood's as it oozed out from her head," she
said. She said that the doctors at the Rawalpindi hospital, where she was
taken, told her that a part of her brain had been blown up.
At
the hospital the staff was perhaps under instructions to get them out as soon
as possible-- some shouting "Lets go we cannot wait", while other
shouting "please take the dead body out", Ms Khan recalled.
"I
got very upset and angry and told the staff she had just come and give the
doctors a chance to examine her", Ms. Khan said. "They said rudely.
"We cannot
wait forever."
For
now Musharraf government may block a UN probe, but after the election in
February –if they are held- the new setup in Islamabad, which is most likely
to be a People's Party-led unity government, could very well make a request for such
an inquiry.
At
that point the former army chief could be charged for aiding and abetting the
murder of Pakistan's most beloved leader and a shining star on international
horizon.
MasoodHaider@MaximsNews
Labels:
Benazir
Bhutto assassination, Pakistan,
Masood Haider, United
Nations, U.N.
~~~~~
MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the
U.N., provides commentary and analysis from
leading world figures: King Abdullah II
(Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
(Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger,
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer,
Masood Haider, Kerry
Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen.
Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha
Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt
Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri
Madarshahi, Hazel Henderson, Donald Wheeler, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Ashley
Bommer, Rory
O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and
others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999.
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
