Bhutto assassination: UN wants to quiz Musharraf

The UN commission, investigating former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, has sought access to former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and a number of senior military officers for questioning. The Foreign Ministry is learnt to have received a letter from Mark Quarterman, chief of staff of Commissioner Heraldo Munoz, asking the government to arrange a meeting of UN investigators with the former president. ''They have shown a desire to meet the top leadership of the army and the ISI and, if there is an inability, the commission would have to reflect it in the final report,'' Dawn newspaper today said, quoting excerpts from the letter. ''Under the terms of reference signed with the UN commission, the government is under obligation to provide access to any official and individual and any material required in the investigation,'' the letter said. ''In the conduct of its inquiry, the commission shall enjoy the full cooperation of the Pakistan government. The government shall comply with the requests of the commission for assistance in collecting the required information and testimony, and shall provide it with the necessary facilities to enable it to discharge its mandate'' it added. ''It shall, in particular, guarantee to the commission freedom of movement throughout the territory of Pakistan, including facilities of transport; free access to all places and establishments relevant to the work of the commission and freedom of access to all sources of information, including documentary material and physical evidence, freedom to interview representatives of governmental as well as other institutions and, in principle, any individual whose testimony is considered necessary for the fulfilment of its mandate, the letter said. Gen (retd) Musharraf is out of the country and there is little possibility of his returning to Pakistan in the near future. Meanwhile, the commission has postponed its scheduled visit to Pakistan for some time. ''The commission has decided to postpone its third and last visit to Pakistan for a couple of weeks. The postponement was on the advice of the UN department of safety and security. Now, the Pakistan government is informed that due to uncertain and difficult security situation, the commission will visit after this month,'' it added.

-- (UNI) -- 06DF1.xml

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