The inquiry commission on Abbottabad operation will hold its second meeting today (Monday) with the senior-most judge of the apex court Justice Javed Iqbal in the chair. A source told Pakistan Today that the Director General Military Operations (DGMO) was likely to brief the commission on the May 2 incident in which American SEALs had killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison town.
Besides Justice Javed Iqbal, the meeting would also be attended by other members including IGP (R) Abbas Khan, former diplomat Ashraf Jahangir Qazi and Lt Gen (r) Nadeem Ahmed besides Cabinet Division Secretary Nargis Sethi for coordination purposes. In its first meeting, the commission had directed the Ministry of Interior and the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) to ensure that the family of Osama was not repatriated from Pakistan without its consent. It had also assured those, interested in appearing before the commission with information pertaining to the May 2 raid, of keeping their identity confidential and said they would legally protected as well.
The individuals would be invited through press/media to inform the commission by July 31. They would be notified by the commission about the date, time and venue for their appearance. The commission can also co-opt experts in specific fields for necessary assistance. During the last meeting, the commission had chalked out modalities for working and decided that the proceedings would be held in-camera, whenever required. It further decided to request senior civil, military and political leadership to attend the proceedings in case their input became necessary. According to the terms of reference, the commission has been tasked to ascertain the reality regarding the presence of Osama in Pakistan for such a long period; investigate circumstances and facts pertaining to the US operation; determine the nature, background and causes of lapses on the part of authorities concerned, if any; and make consequential recommendations.
