Yet another deadline passed silently on Wednesday (October 11) as the judicial commission on Abbottabad operation failed to present its report to the prime minister despite the fact that almost all necessary procedures have been adopted and the report is ready for presentation, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.
The Ministry of Law and Justice had directed the commission headed by Justice (r) Javed Iqbal on September 11 to complete its report within a month’s time, but the deadline lapsed as former inspector-general (IG) of police Abbas Khan, a key member of the commission, is under treatment in the United States.
Due to the former IG’s illness, the commission decided to delay the report, which had to be made public, for another week, a source privy to the development informed this scribe.
However, the source added that the law ministry had turned a blind eye to the commission’s successive failures in meeting deadlines, and that no notice or reminder had been sent to the commission due to the clout of Justice (r) Javed Iqbal. “The report would be signed by all the members and sent to the prime minister who would take a final decision on whether or not to make the report public,” the source added.
The source said that the over 700-page report, compiled on a 40-minute operation conducted by US special forces operatives on the alleged hideout of slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, would finally be sent to the premier if Abbas Khan could not make it to return.
The five-member commission, headed by the then senior-most judge of the apex court Javed Iqbal, was reconstituted on June 21, 2011, and was tasked with ascertaining facts about the alleged presence and bin Laden’s killing.
The commission was mandated to investigate circumstances and facts about the US operation, determining the nature, background and causes of lapses made by the authorities concerned, and making consequential recommendations. During the past one-and-a-half-year, the commission held thorough investigations; examined witnesses and conducted field missions and its report is much awaited. The commission has recorded the statements of the heads of military and civil intelligence agencies, the director-general military operations, Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington, current and former foreign ministers and secretaries, and wives and children of Osama and others. The report has been pending for the last couple of months, as the commission is still waiting for the statements of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was requested to provide his statement five months ago, sources said. A request was also made to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to record his statement on this important matter, the source added.
Another deadline passes: Abbottabad Commission still holding on to report
