The Prime Minister Secretariat is using delaying tactics in handing over parcel containing anthrax, which was sent to the PM by a woman from Jamshoro University Sindh, to police for investigations. A source in police informed Pakistan Today that despite repeated requests, the PM Secretariat was not handing the said parcel to police for starting investigations.
He said that the anthrax-filled letter was posted by a female associate professor of Jamshoro University . Police said that it was learnt that the professor’s real brother is Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Sindh and he was allegedly playing a role for settling the matter.
The police on Thursday had approached the Prime Minister’s Secretariat requesting the PM’s security staff to give them the parcel containing anthrax for starting investigations into the matter, however, till today the staff at PM secretariat have not handed over the parcel to the police. The police sources revealed that perhaps the said professor got anthrax powder from University’s laboratory. It is relevant to note here that the Secretariat Police on January 31, 2011 had registered an FIR against an unidentified accused, who apparently in an assassination attempt had sent a parcel containing ‘anthrax’ to the PM’s Secretariat for PM Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani. The envelope was sent from the Sindh University Campus Colony, Jamshoro, and was received at the PM’s Secretariat on December 18, 2011.
Later, PM Secretariat Administration Deputy Secretary Abdul Hafeez lodged an application with the Secretariat Police for registration of an FIR. It is relevant to note here that FIA was also given the task to probe into the matter but no development has surfaced so far. Police said, without getting the said parcel they could not start proper investigation into the case. In 2001, several people died and were infected in United State of America after receiving anthrax filled letters. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two Democratic US Senators.
