UN Commission comes down hard on Pakistani Police officials

LAHORE: In its just released inquiry report into the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto, the UN Inquiry Commission has come down hard on Saud Aziz, who was the Capital City Police Officer of Pakistan’s garrison town of Rawalpindi at the time of the murder for trying to impede the investigations, for ordering the hosing down of the crime scene outside the Liaqat Bagh and for not letting the doctors at Rawalpindi General Hospital carry out a post-mortem examination of Ms. Bhutto’s dead body.

The inquiry report of the UN Commission clearly states that Saud Aziz impeded the Joint Investigation Team investigators from conducting on-site investigations until two full days after the Bhutto assassination. It states: “On the evening of 28 December, members of the JIT went to Police Lines where they met Saud Aziz. Rather than proceeding directly to the crime site, Saud Aziz laid out tea for the JIT investigators in a conference room. While the JIT members were still in the conference room, the television aired the press conference given by Brigadier Cheema. According to a credible source, at the end of the press conference, the CPO rhetorically asked the JIT members what they intended to investigate, since the perpetrator had been identified. When the JIT members pressed to visit the crime scene, CPO Saud Aziz, noting that it was already dark, stated instead that he would arrange for a visit to the scene in the morning. The source noted above interpreted these actions as a means of hindering the JIT investigators’ access to the crime site”.

The UN report adds: “On 29 December, the following day, the JIT investigators returned to Police Lines where they were able to inspect Ms Bhutto’s vehicle. They discovered early in their inspection that there was no blood or tissue on the escape hatch lever that would be consistent with the gaping injury to Bhutto’s head, suggesting strongly to the investigators that Bhutto had not hit her head on the lever. Following that inspection, rather than taking the investigators directly to the crime scene, Saud Aziz hosted a lunch that went into the late afternoon, at the end of which he again, according to the same source cited above, indicated that it would be dark by the time the team arrived at the crime scene. It was only at around 1700 hours that the JIT investigators were taken to the crime scene at Liaquat Bagh. The Commission finds it inexplicable that the investigators were not in a position to conduct on-site investigations until two full days after the assassination. Such conduct further hampered the gathering of evidence and, at the very least, was contrary to best practices. Once at the scene, the investigators could see that it had been hosed down”.

According to the UN Inquiry report, Saud Aziz’s role in the hosing down of the crime scene is controversial. The report states: Many senior Pakistani police officials have emphasized that hosing down a crime scene is fundamentally inconsistent with Pakistani police practice. While they acknowledge that there is no uniformity of practice in crime scene management in Pakistan, the hosing down of a crime scene is considered extraordinary. Indeed, with the exception of some Rawalpindi police officials, nearly all senior Pakistani police officials have criticized the manner in which this crime scene was managed. One senior police official has argued that hosing down the crime scene amounted to “criminal negligence”. Several senior police officials who know Saud Aziz were troubled that an officer with is many years of experience would allow a major crime scene to be washed away, thereby damaging his reputation. Sources informed the Commission that Saud Aziz did not act independently in deciding to hose down the crime scene. One source, speaking on the basis of anonymity, stated that Saud had confided in him that he had received a call from Army Headquarters instructing him to order the hosing down of the crime scene. Another source, also speaking on the basis of anonymity, said that the CPO was ordered to hose down the scene by Major General Nadeem Ijaz Ahmad, then Director General of MI. Others, including three police officials, told the Commission that CPO Saud Aziz did not act independently and that “everyone knows” who ordered the hosing down. However, they were not willing to state on the record what it is that “everyone knows”.

The UN Inquiry Commission has also castigated Saud Aziz for his refusal to let the doctors carry out a post-mortem examination on Bhutto’s remains. The report states: “The Pakistani law provides that in the case an unnatural death, the police must have a post- mortem examination report as part of their investigations… Even Saud Aziz himself acknowledged that this is the law in Pakistan. However, while denying that the doctors requested his authority for a post-mortem three times, Saud Aziz told the UN Commission that because of the importance of the person of Ms Bhutto, he could not just have a post- mortem examination without first seeking her family’s consent. He first sought the approval of the President of the PPP, Makhdoom Amin Fahim for a post-mortem examination. Mr Fahim told him that he was not in a position to give such approval and asked him to wait for Mr Zardari who was on his way to Pakistan. When Mr Zardari arrived at Chaklala Airbase, the request for permission was made to him and he declined. But the Commission does not find that there are credible reasons for failing to carry out an autopsy on Ms Bhutto’s. The body had already undergone invasive medical procedures when the open heart massage was undertaken. It is odd that Ms Bhutto’s remains were moved to the Pakistan Air Force base in Rawalpindi before Mr Zardari’s arrival from Dubai. If the police were genuinely waiting for Mr Zardari’s permission before requesting a post-mortem examination, they should have left Ms Bhutto’s remains at the hospital. Instead they moved her remains to Chaklala Airbase, thus rendering a post- mortem examination more difficult”

The UN report further adds: “No autopsy had been carried out even though five hours had passed since Ms Bhutto had been declared dead. Saud Aziz placed Mr Zardari in an impossible situation – one which almost compelled Mr Zardari to refuse request for an autopsy. The subsequent letter by IGP Punjab reiterating the misleading summary of events set out in CPO Saud Aziz’s letter reflects the willingness of his administrative superior to further this shift of responsibility and perpetrate a cover- up of the true reason behind the lack of a post-mortem examination. In short, Saud Aziz did not fulfill his legal obligation to order an autopsy. Having failed in that regard, he sought to cover up his failing by putting Mr Zardari in a situation designed to elicit his refusal of an autopsy. Saud Aziz’s further effort to cover his failings by writing a memo pinning blame on Mr Zardari was highly improper. On their face, these factors taken together strongly suggest a preconceived effort to prevent a thorough examination of Ms Bhutto’s remains… All these factors together support the view held by many Pakistanis that Saud Aziz did not act independently in this matter. Saud Aziz’s insistence on justifying his actions has made it difficult for the Commission to inquire any further and attempt to unearth who might have been behind the decision”.

amir.mir1969@gmail.com