Posted on 01/01/2008 12:15:39 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Pak Govt makes U-turn on cause of Bhutto's death
Rezaul H Laskar, Press Trust Of India
January 01,
In a dramatic U-turn, Pakistan government has "apologised" for claiming that former premier Benazir Bhutto died of a skull fracture after hitting the sunroof of her car during a suicide attack.
Caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan has asked the media and people to "forgive and ignore" comments made by his ministry's spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema which were slammed by her Pakistan People's Party as "lies" and led to an uproar at home and abroad.
The Interior Minister made the apology during a briefing for Pakistani newspaper editors on Monday. Punjab province on Tuesday issued a front-page advertisement in newspapers that offered a reward of Rs 1 crore for information about a gunman and a suspected suicide bomber seen in the photos and video footage of the assassination.
The government's apparent damage control exercise on Cheema's comments made at a news conference a day after Bhutto was assassinated at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi on December 27, came after TV channels aired privately shot photos and video footage which showed a gunman shooting at Bhutto.
The Pakistan People's Party leader is seen in the footage falling through the sun-roof before the suicide bomber detonated his explosives. The briefing by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro was also attended by the foreign, interior and information ministers and senior officials.
"Editor after editor lambasted the government for its non-serious attitude towards the tragedy, specially the statement that Bhutto had died by hitting the lever and not (due to) a bullet or shrapnel," The News reported.
During the briefing, an editor asked why spokesman Cheema had said that a lever on the sun-roof had caused a fatal injury when the manufacturers of the car and Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari had stated that there was no metallic lever that could have caused the wound.
Khan said the spokesman's comments may have been a mistake as "we are faujis (soldiers) and we are not so articulate to present our views as you journalists can". Both the interior minister and spokesman Cheema are retired army officers.
"I am sorry if that happened and please forgive us and ignore the comment," he told the editors. Earlier, Prime Minister Soomro tried to defend the interior ministry's spokesman, saying he was just relaying facts that had been told to him, especially about the cause of death.
"We are conducting an investigation and all TV footage, all evidence, that would be available will help in reaching a definite conclusion," Soomro told the editors.
But the editors asked more questions, especially with reference to the medical report of doctors of Rawalpindi General Hospital who treated Bhutto.
They "emphatically pointed out that the report quoted by the spokesman never mentioned the cause of the head injury" to Bhutto. The report only said there was a skull fracture which caused cardio-pulmonary arrest, the editors pointed out. Soomro then referred the issue to Interior Minister Khan. He explained in detail the security measures taken and asserted that Bhutto had a bulletproof vehicle which could not be damaged by a bomb or bullets.
Once she was inside it, she was secure and police vans were trying to keep her car clear of other vehicles. But when she emerged from the sun-roof she exposed herself to an attack, Khan said.
"Nothing would have happened to her even if every one in the world had wanted to hurt her," the Minister added. Soomro was repeatedly asked whether he would allow a foreign investigation into the murder but he asserted that Pakistani experts were competent to do the job.
His denial raised questions from the editors about the offer made by President Pervez Musharraf to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to consider foreign help in probing the assassination.
Meanwhile, the advertisement issued by Punjab's Home Ministry included two photos of the suspected assailant and the severed head of the suspected bomber.
"The public is hereby informed that the two individuals in the above photographs are the accused terrorists in the Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi terror attack, which resulted in the death of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and others," it said.
"The government of Punjab has announced a cash award of Rs 1 crore for lead information and any solid evidence." The advertisement said the names of persons providing any information would be kept "strictly confidential". It also sought the cooperation of the people for "dismantling of terrorist network".
I’m a pathologist and have many Muslim colleagues who have no religious scruples about performing autopsies. The fact that none was performed in this murder is the elephant in the room. I’m amazed it hasn’t gotten any attention. It’s the only way to know how she died. I’m pretty sure she was shot but the angle of the gunshot, whether she was shot more than once and by more than one weapon, etc. are enormously important. The literally buried the evidence here.
Or rather they hosed away the evidence at the crime scene using high pressure water!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/29/AR2007122901846.html
Perhaps some in the current government hate her guts and were insulting her by partially blaming her for her death.
Why?
Good question.
I agree with others here, that lies are a way of life, and it is not limited to just Muslims in that part of the world. Hired expedition porters in the Karakoram and Nepal tell you what they think you want to hear. It begins as respect, to avoid hurting you with bad news, and quickly becomes very convenient when they have something to hide.
But that doesn’t explain the motivation for this particular lie, which I think is your question.
Here’s one possibility, have a seat, maybe a few deep breaths, because just circulating this story, true or not, will have significant impact:
Bhutto had “proof” state, spy agency rigging poll KARACHI, Jan 1 (Reuters): Benazir Bhutto was poised to reveal proof that Pakistan’s election commission and shadowy spy
agency were seeking to rig an upcoming general election the night she was assassinated, a top aide said Tuesday. Senator Latif Khosa, who authored a 160-page dossier with Bhutto
documenting rigging tactics, said they ranged from intimidation to fake ballots, and were in some cases unwittingly funded by U.S. aid. Bhutto had been due to give the report to two
visiting U.S. lawmakers over dinner on Dec. 27, the day she was killed in a suicide bombing. “The state agencies are manipulating the whole process There is rigging by the ISI
(Inter-Services Intelligence), the election commission and the previous government, which is still continuing to hold influence. They were on the rampage” Khosa, a top Bhutto aide and
head of her Pakistan People’s Party election monitoring unit, told Reuters. (Posted @ 15:20 PST)
http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/01/welcome.htm
****************
Here’s corroboration for the lie, if anyone needs it:
Doctors cite pressure to keep silent on Benazir: Washington Post Rawalpindi, Jan.1 (PPI): The authorities pressured the medical personnel who tried to save Benazir Bhutto’s
life to remain silent about what happened in her final hour and removed records of her treatment from the facility, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The report said doctors who
were at Bhutto’s side at Rawalpindi General Hospital said they were under extreme pressure not to share details about the nature of the injuries she suffered. “The government took all
medical records right after Ms. Bhutto’s time of death was read out,” said a visibly shaken doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity. Sweating and putting his head in his hands, he
said: “look, we have been told by the government to stop talking.” Babar Awan, a top PPP official who said he saw Bhutto’s body after the attack and identified two clearly defined bullet
wounds — entry and exit points. He said the principal professor of surgery at the hospital, Mussadiq Khan, was “extremely nervous, but eventually told me that Benazir had died of a bullet
wound. Why was this man so nervous?” Awan said. “He told me firsthand he was under pressure not to talk about how she died.” Reached at his home in Islamabad, Dr Khan declined to
comment. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
(same link as above)
***********
No proof, we are left to speculate. Mine goes as follows:
1. The probable spectrum of possibility (not a waffle, but an accurate definition of the mathematical utility of the following information) run from a sad government effort to mitigate unrest, “it was an accidemt”, through, “Musharraf killed her and is covering it up.”
2. My gut says the army was, and remains completely unprepared for the widespread chaos following the assasination. They are playing catch-up ball, slowly.
3. Any politico would recognize the mayhem to follow assassination of a popular leader. Musharraf did not prepare the army for this. If Bhutto was a threat, at least a significant part of that threat was her large following. “Kill the threat and ingnore the following” doesn’t make sense, political or tactical.
4. Best guess then, lies somewhere between “Musharraf was clueless”, to “Musharraf knew of threats within his government, but was not in position (or inclined) to thwart them”.
There’s a caveat here. Regarding Pakistan, or even the Pak government, as a monolith is a dangerous mistake, just as it is when assessing Saudi Arabia. The ISI, though lessened from the Afghan Bureau glory days, still swings a big bat. Even the islamists are well represented officially.
As yet, I can’t say the lie comes from Musharraf’s faction, and I can’t say it doesn’t. Plausible deniability at its finest.
All I have for now on the Sunroof Lever Lie.
***********
In other news, Sharif and Zardari are insisting that elections be held on schedule. The US is backing them. Significant confrontation coming, if the Pak government doesn’t back down. Significant confrontation coming if they do.
So far, the “decision” has been postponed and waffled, the best sign of all that the dot-gov is leaving their options open.
Best guess, if Sharif and Zardari hang tough, Mush will cave. Rigged elections to fall back on?
**********
Most important news of all:
11 more dead SE of Parachinar. When Saddam invades and assimilated Kuwait, it was a global headline. Well, the Taliban and Al Qaeda have invaded and are assimilating another part of Pakistan, decidedly the most strategic ground to date.
There is currently a civil war in Pakistan, and the government is losing.
Al Qaeda is building a safe haven, and this is being ignored.
You can read a map...here:
http://users.in-motion.net/~jefft/tech/Mapping/afghanistan/index.html
Al Qaeda’s holdings now, or soon will, extend from south of Wana, to the foothills south of Jalalabad. The current fighting is for Parachinar, the strategic and logistical center of mass for the entire territory.
They will develop a more mature national personality. Their country is new and they lack all that cultural stuff.
On the first map in the series, see the chokepoint just north of Sadda?
A very few miles due west of there is a place called “Jaji”, unmarked on the map.
Run a search on “Jaji” some time. If you need to narrow parameters to get a useful yield, add “Osama”.
Holding that chokepoint, Al Qaeda and the Taliban can starve the tribals in Parachinar into submission. That’s where the fighting is now.
Wondering when those on FR who dismissed any questioning of the official sunroof-handle explanation as coming from “truthers” and “nutters” will join this thread..... [cue crickets to begin chirping].
A couple of points of fact.
First, there were large segments of time where the government wasn't in control of the casket containing Bhutto.
Second, I believe the body is in an above ground mausoleum and is easily accessible for further investigation.
Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz clarified this on Tuesday saying there was no change in the government's factual position, after earlier media reports quoted him as saying that the sunroof theory comments made by government spokesperson Brigadier Cheema must be ignored and forgiven.
The government said it apologised only for the some ''crude words'' that Cheema had used, as army personnel are not articulate in presenting their views.
Cheema's comments of last Friday caused a huge uproar, as TV channels obtained footage, showing the assassin shooting at the PPP leader. Even the Toyota Motor Company dismissed the theory.
The government now says the investigation is underway and all evidence including TV footage is being analysed.
Not just Pakistani. It’s a Third World thing, but perfected in the Middle East. & I say this as a proud Middle Easterner.
Please see post #30.
The international DBM lies and is a more infuriating bunch of people, but that's JMO.
Now watch them pull back from the pullback.....these people are just nuts.
Excerpt from Pres Trust of India:In a dramatic U-turn, Pakistan government has "apologised" for claiming that former premier Benazir Bhutto died of a skull fracture after hitting the sunroof of her car during a suicide attack.
Dog, the Press Trust of India directly quotes only one word, "apologized" from what Caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan actually said. The part about what Khan was apologizing it appears was made up. If it wasn't made up, then why didn't the "Pres Trust" use the full quote?
As I said, the international DBM lies and is a more infuriating bunch of people.
JMHO.
Musharaff and his military do walk a fine line. I believe the Paki military is fully capable of soundly defeating AQ/Taliban, the problem is if the lay the hammer down to hard then you upset the 70% of the population who sympathizes with the radicals.
Bottom line for global security is the Paki military and its control over the nuke arsenal. Long term, I’m afraid this is an issue that just isn’t going to go away, there are just too many radical elements in and around Pakistan and at some point a set of circumstances is going to arise where the military/gov is going to be taken down . . . and then there goes the neighborhood.
I bet New Delhi generals don’t sleep much these days.
You seem desperate to clutch at anything to defend your buddies,the Paki military-how pathetic!!
Frankly,I thought they had nothing whatsoever to do with all this-their wonderfully coherent actions afterwards have left most people with second thoughts.
Sure,Pakistan’s military walks a fine line.They hunt with the Yankee hounds to catch a few Talibanis while also running with more of the same to achieve their greater strategic aims.
If the Army really wanted to defeat the Jihadis,that would happened long ago.
Some geniuses on here say that since Hillary supported Benazir,she is an all bad liberal & commie,while the Paki army is nationalist & rightwing & can do no wrong.
The only source some folks on here accept is if the person who allegedly made the quote calls you up & says it in first person-so everything else is not worthy of trust(either it’s leftist/MSM/Indian).
What a stupid strawman fallacy.
The pathetic quote was one word, "apologised".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.