The members of the Abbotabad Commission would conduct a three-day visit to the compound used by al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, from September 13 to 15, to see the site, evaluate facts and record the statements of witnesses on the covert operation conducted by the US special forces on May 2.
The decision was taken on Saturday by the commission headed by Justice Javed Iqbal, who along with other members of the commission including Abbas Khan, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, and Lt Gen (r) Nadeem Ahmed visited the PAF headquarters at Air Defence Command Chaklala where they were given a detailed briefing by the air force. Pilots who flew surveillance aircraft on the night between 1st and 2nd May briefed the commission. The commission was told the PAF believed it had taken adequate operational measures as per standard operating procedure (SOP) after learning about the operation.
It was told that PAF aircraft remained in the Abbotabad area till early morning and then returned to their respective air bases. The air officer commanding and pilots responded to questions raised by the commission members. The PAF Chaklala Air Officer Commanding (AOC) also gave a detailed statement to the commission. He explained the functioning of the radar system, which is the PAF air defence system’s fundamental component.
He told the commission about the locations of low and high altitude PAF radars and their operational readiness during war as well as peace time. He said there were areas where the radar system can not detect intruding aircraft and helicopters due to terrain limitations. He said the PAF had maintained a peace-time posture on radars on its western border historically and did so prior to May 2.
