UN Commission probing Bhutto case to bring out truth about facts
ISLAMABAD: The UN Commission of Inquiry would ensure that its final report clearly established the truth regarding the facts and circumstances of assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, its head said Friday.
Ambassador Heraldo Mu¤oz told a news conference that the Commission was ?approaching our work in a transparent, open-minded and committed manner.?
It would ?ensure that our final report clearly establishes the truth regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic event,? he said.
The Commission members Marzuki Darusman and Peter Fitzgerald were also present at the news conference.
After arriving here on Wednesday on its first working visit to the country, the team met ministers for foreign affairs, interior and law and justice.
The Commission called on President Asif Ali, besides visiting the Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi where they inspected the assassination site and met concerned police officers.
?We spent a good amount of time there trying to understand more clearly and much more fully what happened on that fateful day. We were briefed by the relevant members of the police and we asked many questions and sought clarifications too,? Ambassdor Munoz said.
Responding to questions, he said the Commission?s report would not mention any names of perpetrators of the assassination as its mandate was just to examine the facts and circumstances in which the killing was carried out.
?Our report would not be a smoking gun. We would not tell the names of perpetrators,? he said.
Ambassador Munoz said their meeting with the President was ?productive? and before that the Commission had received ?extensive and useful briefings? from the interior minister and some senior security officials.
He said the Commission had also spokes with officials who have been involved in investigating the previous attempt on the life of the former prime minister in Karachi.
Ambassador Munoz thanked the government. especially the interior ministry, for their support and cooperation and expressed the confidence this would continue.
?We would greatly appreciate the voluntary involvement and engagement of all Pakistanis in this effort. We cannot be fully successful without the cooperation of the people of Pakistan. And I need to stress the key part the media can play in helping the Commission,? he said.
He said the UN Secretary General BAN Ki-moon ?considers the work of this commission one of the UN?s top priorities over the next few months.?
?We are very much aware that this is no ordinary assignment. We have no preconceived ideas about what the outcome of our work will be.
?We intend to do serious and solid work that may throw light on the issues and offer a better understanding of the facts and circumstances,? he said.
This way, the report could complement the government?s own criminal investigation, Mu¤oz said.
Replying to a question, he said former president Pervez Musharraf being an important figure might have some important information that he could share with the Commission.
But he added they could not force anyone as it was a voluntary process and any individual or organization having relevant information could speak to them.
Reiterating the mandate given to the Commission, he said their report would a bit wider than that of Scotland Yard, which just dealt with forensic aspects.
When asked whether they would speak with the PPP leaders who were with Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto at the time of her assassination, he said he could not disclose whom the Commission would talk to.
More: continued here