Chowrangi

Benazir Bhutto assassination – UN report solved the mystery?

It took more than two years and millions of dollars of a developing country, whose citizens are still deprived of basic necessities of life, to release investigative report on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination by UN. In December 2007 she was killed while campaigning in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi. The cause of death is still a mystery whether it was bullet shot or a wound in skull after the suicidal blast. The much awaited UN report has been highly critical for the government and it condemned a series of catastrophic security failures leading to her death.

The three UN investigators who conducted a nine-month inquiry, headed by Chile’s UN Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, believe the failure to effectively examine Bhutto’s death was ‘deliberate’. It called on 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 bring those responsible to justice.

A closer look on this hefty 65 pages report revealed that it is a description of events that took place before and after her assassination, like an exercise to find facts only. The place of blast was washed within couple of hours which causes the loss of evidence too. The UN report quotes in point 106, 107 that the blast appeared just over two-thirds of a second after Ms Bhutto disappeared from view but later on in point 190 it summarizes the cause of death in following words “Ms Bhutto died of a severe head injury caused by impact in the area of the escape hatch lip as a result of the blast”.

If blast occurred soon after Ms disappeared from view how it could be the reason of her death, especially when every other person in the car remains safe?

Chaudhry Mohummad Aslam, one of Bhutto’s protocol officers, said Bhutto was left to the mercy of her assassins by her security chief. He also blames the bullet proof black Mercedes which mysteriously escaped from the venue few minutes after the suicide blast. Here is his interview to Duniya TV explaining the details.

[ev type=”youtube” data=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrGQJG4-A4g”][/ev]

The UN report also has reservations & points out the mysterious black Mercedes and its role when the assassination took place. It was the backup car of BB’s fleet but the way it disappears from the venue makes it suspicious. According to the UN report

“Riding in the black Mercedes-Benz car was the driver, PPP official Mr Faratullah Babar in the front passenger seat and, in the rear passenger seat from left to right, two PPP officials Mr Babar Awan and Mr Rehman Malik and General (ret) Tauqir Zia”

It is now a moral obligation for the ruling party to find the facts and investigate in a way that the culprits could not run away.

Image: Moin Ansari

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Hina Safdar

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9 responses to “Benazir Bhutto assassination – UN report solved the mystery?”

  1. confused indian Avatar
    confused indian

    well, it is astonishing, for anyone who is not native of pakistan, reading hina’s article on UN report on pakistan’s would be PM’s murder and subsequent comment on it by shakir, amna and tayab.

    how can they love or have sympathy for the military which has hanged, killed and thrown country’s so many democratic elected leaders.

    pakistan’s citizen are showing symptom of abnormality.

    seems, their is inherent and deep rooted hatred towards their leaders (indo-apk partition!).

    feel they have lost hope for future, only caring for present.

    hina, that is why you (pakistani) can’t even produce a nation song with move masses like “sare jahan se achha hindustan hamara”?

    Reply
  2. James Killian Spratt Avatar
    James Killian Spratt

    @Shakir: The evidence is circumstantial. It’s simple enough to look at who gains from such events, who would have lost out if BB had survived and won the election, but is now drawing a whopping paycheck, and there are your culprits, direct or indirect. The UN investigation, full of solid, undeniable science on the physics of velocity of explosive shockwaves, projectiles, etc., is just so much filler to shove the issue under the rug and get past it, what we would call a “snowjob” or “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s,” a way of delivering bad news in an unarguable manner. And throw $2M at it, that’ll shut them up; just a buyoff. He who pays the piper calls the tune. We saw this same kind of deliberately inconclusive bullshit with the Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations; it tells about half the truth, very convincingly, but dodges the real points.

    If Fatima were to produce conclusive proof of who did it, she would probably disappear very quickly. These guys, ahem, KILL people–big, important, well-known people. So eight officials got sacked; what are they doing at this minute? Relieved of duties for “incompetence,” in prison, shamed and stripped, or still somehow flush with very dirty cash and cooling their heels at the country club? Or on a little island in the Bahamas, the Virgins, Ibiza, perhaps? Ooh, nothing haram about Ibiza, except, well, almost everything–but then, what’s haram to a murderer? Tahiti’s nice, or Puerto Vallarta–most of you guys could pass easily for Hispanics or Mediterraneans–perfect place to hide. Sun, surf, sand, cerveza and battalions of nekkid, giggling wahinis. Poor little fellers. Tearful strains of sadness for them, from the smallest violin.

    Reply
  3. Shakir Lakhani Avatar
    Shakir Lakhani

    @ Fatima Ather: “even it was clear that Mush is the murderer of BB”. Clear to whom? Did Mush himself tell you that he’s BB’s killer? If you have any evidence about Mush being the murderer, please go to the authorities and present it to them. You’ll become world famous!

    Reply
  4. Fatima Ather Avatar
    Fatima Ather

    Many fingers were raised on PPP leadership for not filing the case of BB. Even those who had nothing to do with PPP and opposed BB criticized PPP. The second storm was raised when PPP consulted UN to probe into murder of BB. However there were several reasons, first PPP from the day one said it believes in politics of reconciliation and does not believe in politics of revenge, so that is the very reason there is no single political prisoners in the country. Second reason that PPP did not nominate any one for, it could raise many questions, even it was clear that Mush is the murderer of BB but PPP restrained and Now after having an authentic report, PPP would certainly take prompt action. The federal government went into action and suspended eight officials, including former City Police Officer (CPO) Saud Aziz, who were responsible for former prime minister’s security at the venue of her last public meeting. Their names were also included on the Exit Control List (ECL). PPP is committed to bring murderers of BB shaheed into book soon inshalla.

    Reply
  5. tayab Avatar
    tayab

    It was an attempt to diver attention of people from core issues. This sudden start of power cut (3 years ago), shortage of water, not controlling religious smadrasahs and suside bombs are there to keep young population away from using their mental growth. It is no coincidence that pakistan has one of the highest ratio of 60-65% of your people (18-25 years old).

    Lack of education and unemplyment are wasting this potential. Political culprits are focusing on their agenda to ensure that their control is never challanged.

    How cares about this report when common person has no basics of human life?

    Reply
  6. confused indian Avatar
    confused indian

    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. Doing so would constitute a major step toward ending impunity for political crimes in this country.

    i was eagerly waiting to know how people of pakistan react to “heinous crime of historic proportions”.

    sadly response of pakistan press is hopeless and even blogging community of pakistan are under pressure to say anything on un report.

    hina, you have shown courage, even after 4/5 days of un report’s publication and vaguely mentioning the basic findings of the report, to say something on it.

    It took more than two years and millions of dollars of a developing country, whose citizens are still deprived of basic necessities of life, to release investigative report on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination by UN.

    though it was clear from the beginning that who was behind the killing of biwi, but pakistan’s government didn’t have courage to say itself, that is why they have chosen UN to say that, yes you are instinctly right, that your own establishment was behind the killing of her.

    what UN report is asking pakistan on it’s report is to stand up on it’s feet, feel like country and have courage to act like a sovereign country.

    biwi hum bhi sharminda hain,
    tumhare katil abhi bhi jinda hain.

    Reply
  7. Amna Zaman Avatar
    Amna Zaman

    The shame is on these people. Millions of dollars spent on this report and still much un decided with hundred pages! No security, no jammers! But does a common man really care where 90% are living below the poverty line. Millions of dollars are being received by Pakistan from our allies but sadly still nothing is done in the interest of citizens! Its like Taliban mindset is taking over and common man is being crushed under inflation.

    Reply
  8. ali hamdani Avatar
    ali hamdani

    Its funny how these 3 sit here and discuss upon this issue. I respect the importance of this cause but then again just around 40 people died due to a terrorist attack a day ago. Will millions spent to catch those terrorist who were behind the attack??

    Reply
  9. Shakir Lakhani Avatar
    Shakir Lakhani

    Many Pakistanis suspect that Azif Zardari arranged the murder of his wife, which is one reason why he wasted so much of this poor country’s money on asking the U.N. to investigate the killing. By the way, two thirds of a second is a very short time and it may well have caused BB’s head to be injured by the impact of the blast. Those who remained seated were not injured because the effect of the impact was greatly reduced owing to their close proximity to each other. As for the three in the black Mercedes car, what else could they have done? Expose themselves to the bullets which were flying around?

    Reply

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