Policy Research Group - Strategic Insight: UN Commission Report on Benazir's murder -Part V UN Commission Report on Benazir's murder -Part V ================================================================================ editor on 03 May, 2010 05:45:00 ....contd... PART -V The criminal investigations 238. There was not an effective or active criminal investigation of either the Karachi or the Rawalpindi attacks. This is inexplicable in terms of the basic principles of effective police work and contrary to the legal responsibilities of the relevant authorities. 239. There is no evidence that the Rawalpindi police made any attempt to seal the crime scene in the aftermath of Ms Bhutto’s assassination despite the purported 1,371 strong police deployment. The decision to use a fire hose on the crime scene within one hour and forty minutes of the attack – allegedly because of civil unrest and in order to prevent rioting – is not acceptable, and effectively destroyed evidence. This destruction made it extremely difficult if not impossible to gather more DNA evidence than the minimal amount already gathered. This massive loss of evidence did irreparable damage to the crime scene. Contrary to the 23 pieces of evidence gathered by the police, attacks of this type would typically result in the collection of thousands of pieces of evidence. 240. The Commission is not convinced that the decision to wash the scene was made by CPO Saud Aziz alone. The attack was too significant and the target of the attack too important to Pakistani society to make such a decision solely on his level. Sources told the Commission that CPO Saud Aziz was constantly talking on his mobile phone while at the hospital. In the Commission’s view, he has not adequately explained who called him during that time. Other sources have provided credible information about the intervention of intelligence agencies in the case. Whoever was responsible for this decision, and for whatever reason, acted in a manner that is contrary to the most basic police standards and hampered the proper investigation of the assassination. 241. The handling of other important items of evidence, most significantly the failure to preserve the vehicle in which Ms Bhutto rode and other vehicles for technical examination prevented the gathering of important evidence. 242. The absence of an autopsy caused serious damage to the investigation. The lack of a clear cause of death established by an autopsy severely affected the credibility of the Government among the general public and has given rise to wide speculation as to the cause of Ms Bhutto’s death. CPO Saud Aziz again appears in a setting in which he seems to have been able to impede the effective investigation of the crime. Again, it is unlikely that a police officer of his level could make such significant and ultimately destructive decisions on his own and wield such power. CPO Saud Aziz maintains that he did not deny any requests for an autopsy. 243. The Government press conference of 28 December 2007 – the day after the assassination and the day that the Joint Investigation Team was formed – prejudiced the investigation and eroded public confidence. This problem is especially acute because Pakistan was led by a military government in a society in which the military has significant and broad authority. The Commission concludes that the decision for the press conference was made by General Musharraf. 244. The investigation of the JIT, apart from the first few days after the attack, was characterized by inaction. 245. After the early actions of the members of the JIT, particularly by the Federal Investigation Agency members, the JIT relied almost exclusively on information received from intelligence agencies without follow up police work. They did not engage in the most basic police procedures, such as interviewing the occupants of Ms Bhutto’s vehicle. Even if those persons and others within the PPP did not wish to cooperate with the authorities, the Pakistani police had the means to summon participation, and it is surprising that they did not, given the seriousness of the crime. 246. There has been essentially no communication between the Karachi police officials investigating the Karachi attack and the Rawalpindi police officials in the JIT investigating the assassination. The two police investigations remain unconnected, despite the need for full communication and cooperation in these linked complex cases. 247. The Commission is concerned that its existence enabled the authorities responsible for the investigation to slow their activities. For exa mple, the Government, which has been in office since April 2008, only commenced the futher investigation in October 2009. The Commission’s effort to determine the facts and circumstances of Ms Bhutto’s assassination is not a substitute for an effective, official criminal investigation. These activities should have been carried out simultaneously. Ms Bhutto was killed more than two years ago. A Government headed by her party, the PPP, has been in office for most of that time, and it only began the further investigation, a renewal of the stalled official investigation, in October 2009. This is surprising to the Commission. Role of intelligence agencies10 248. A number of knowledgeable and credible persons with whom the Commission spoke cited the pervasive reach, control and clandestine role of intelligence agencies in Pakistani society. In the course of this inquiry, the Commission encountered abundant confirmation of this not only in law enforcement matters, but also in various aspects of the country’s political life during 2007. 249. Particularly noteworthy was the intense involvement of intelligence agencies in criminal investigations. While it is often necessary, especially in terrorism cases, for intelligence agencies to provide significant assistance to police investigative authorities, in the investigation of Ms Bhutto’s assassination, the role of intelligence agencies far exceeded an assisting role, with the effect of subordinating law enforcement institutions. 250. The agencies, and in particular the ISI, carried out parallel investigations into both the Karachi attack and the assassination in Rawalpindi. A former intelligence official with direct knowledge of the matter told the Commission that the ISI had conducted its own investigation of the Karachi attack and had successfully detained four men who provided logistical support for the attack. None of the police or other civilian officials interviewed by the Commission regarding Karachi reported any knowledge of such detentions. The same source told the Commission that ISI agents covering Ms Bhutto’s meeting in Liaquat Bagh on 27 December were the first to secure her vehicle and take photos of it after the attack there, among other actions. One very prominent and directly knowledgeable former government official informed the Commission that the ISI was, in fact, responsible for the investigation of Ms Bhutto’s assassination. Others have asserted that the Intelligence Bureau had and still has a significant role in the investigation. 251. Members of the JIT that investigated Ms Bhutto’s assassination all but admitted that virtually all of their most important information, including that which led to the identification and arrest of those suspects now in prison, came from intelligence agencies. The Commission is satisfied that this was the case given that there is little indication that the JIT considered any other hypotheses, followed leads or developed its own evidence beyond the framework set by those agencies. 252. Several high-ranking law enforcement officials expressed concerns to the Commission that resources to build investigative capacity, especially in terrorism cases, have gone to the intelligence agencies, while police resources and capacity lag. Indeed, in the aftermath of the attempts on General Mus harraf’s life, the capacity of the ISI was strengthened to allow it to engage more effectively in such investigations. This tendency has led to a distortion and imbalance in the functions of these institutions and presents a challenge for the future in ensuring the democratic rule of law. 253. Given the historical and possibly continuing relationships between intelligence agencies and some radical Islamist groups that engage in extremist violence, the agencies could be compromised in their investigations of crimes possibly carried out by such groups. 254. Wiretapping can, of course, be a legitimate intelligence and law enforcement tool. Yet in its efforts to determine the provenance and authenticity of the phone intercept used to implicate Baitullah Mehsud in the assassination of Ms Bhutto, the Commission received credible information regarding the systematic wire- tapping by the ISI and the IB not only of suspected terrorists and other criminals, but also of politicians, government officials, journalists and social activists. These activities are not authorized or overseen by judicial authorities and are not in keeping with the operations of such agencies in a democratic society. 255. Beyond their involvement in criminal investigations, the Commission encountered a far-reaching presence of intelligence agencies in several key aspects of the tumultuous events of 2007, which formed in important part in shaping the circumstances and context of Ms Bhutto’s return to Pakistan. This pervasive presence at times called into question the ability of other institutions to exercise their full, independent mandate and functions. 256. The electoral process was one such area. The involvement of intelligence agencies, and specifically the ISI, in influencing electoral outcomes in past elections is well-documented and was confirmed to the Commission by a former senior intelligence official. Ms Bhutto had her own concerns and reportedly asked General Musharraf that ISI interference in the elections be curbed as part of guaranteeing free and fair elections. The day after her July meeting in Abu Dhabi with General Musharraf, an aide to Ms Bhutto was sent secretly to Islamabad on her behalf to review the work of the firm hired to create the new electoral lists; his site visits for this purpose were facilitated directly by General Kayani and other ISI staff. The former senior intelligence official also explained that in 2007 the ISI had guaranteed that there would be no rigging. While by all accounts, the 2008 elections were “the most fair” in recent Pakistani history, constitutionally, the task of safeguarding the electoral process is the role of the Pakistan Electoral Commission. 257. The deep and direct involvement of the ISI, through its most senior leadership, in the political negotiations between General Musharraf and Ms Bhutto in all of its stages and the role of all of the intelligence agencies in efforts to sack the Chief Justice and influence the composition of the Courts are additional examples of their central function. 258. This pervasive involvement of intelligence agencies in diverse spheres, which is an open secret, has undermined the rule of law, distorted civilian –military relations and weakened some political and law enforcement institutions. At the same time, it has contributed to wide-spread public distrust in those institutions and fed a generalized political culture that thrives on competing conspiracy theories.(more in part -VI) MAIN FINDINGS IN PART -VI