UN ready to probe BB Assasination

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

[RIGHT]UN Says It Will Only Help in Bhutto Investigation if Musharraf Makes Request
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis[/RIGHT]

UNITED NATIONS, January 2 – A week after the killing of Benazir Bhutto, from Pakistan there are many requests for UN involvement in investigating the assassination. At UN headquarters on Wednesday, spokesperson Michele Montas was asked if the UN will get involved. Only if requested, she said. Inner City Press asked who the request would have to come from – could it only be made by Pervez Musharraf, whose role would be one of the subjects of any credible investigation? The request would have to come from “the executive branch,” Ms. Montas said. Video , from Minute 11:18. She added that to such a request, the Secretary-General “would respond… it wouldn’t have to be the Security Council,” which was the UN body which authorized an investigation of the assassination of Rafiq Hariri in Lebanon.
But when pressed what she meant by the UN “responding,” it became clear that it might be limited to simply responding to a letter with another letter. “I can’t answer a hypothetical questions,” Ms. Montas insisted. But given the postponement of the elections, questions of who can make a request, and how the UN would respond, are questions that should be answered.

The response of the U.S., at least of the Bush administration, is now known: the UN need not be involved, since Musharraf has invited the UK’s Scotland Yard. But why wasn’t that done, for example, after the death of Rafiq Hariri? In fact, Republican Senator Arlen Specter, who reportedly was to meet with Bhutto about her complaints that Pakistan’s ISI was planning to rig the election, was said by Reuters to have written to

“UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to ask that he appoint an investigating commission that could include agencies like Scotland Yard and the FBI. ‘It is obvious that a UN investigation would have greater public credibility,’ Specter said. The United Nations is ready to help if Pakistan asks, but Musharraf’s government has made no such request, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said.”

That’s just the issue, the request being limited to a suspect in the case. Did Sudan’s president al-Bashir ask for UN peacekeepers in Darfur?

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

I have not heard that anywhere. Could you kindly show it to me?
I mean the UN needs approval for any internal investigation in a nation's matters. Naming a 3rd country is not required, because what if there is none?

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

You can't have UN investigation team then. Wait n see..

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

I think it is pretty clear. UN will send in an investigation team if the gov. of Pakistan approves it. That's it. Just like Scotland yard or the FBI.

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

UN is international body, and scotland is a country team. its a big difference between them.

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

Well whether it is an international body like NATO or UN or any neutral country, naming a 3rd country as suspect to open up an investigation just doesn't make sense bro.

What are you wearing today?
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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

S.T.

If we believe the French…this may be the case

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=12103

France tells PPP UN probe not possible

By Rauf Klasra

ISLAMABAD: The French government is said to have told the PPP leadership it was not possible to get the murder of Benazir Bhutto investigated by a UN commission, arguing that the other four permanent members of the Security Council might not consider the case fit for an international probe on the pattern of Hariri commission.

The PPPP leadership had pinned high hopes on support from France, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council besides the US, Britain, Russia and China. The visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who met the PPP leaders in Islamabad the other day to offer condolences on the death of Benazir Bhutto, told them that the** UN Security Council could send any commission only if two countries were involved in a serious dispute over a political assassination**, as was the case between Lebanon and Syria when the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri was shot dead and Beirut suspected Damascus’ involvement in the attack.

The PPP delegation was told that the murder of Benazir Bhutto was an internal issue of Pakistan and the Security Council might not be convinced to interfere in the internal affairs of a country. Kouchner told the delegation that it might not be possible for the five permanent members of the Security Council to constitute the Hariri-type commission.

Earlier, a PPP delegation headed by Senator Enwar Baig met the French foreign minister. The delegation comprised Senator Latif Khosa, Qasim Zia, and Shahnaz Wazir Ali. Sources said the PPP delegation requested France to use its influence to get Security Council’s approval for Hariri-type commission to probe Benazir’s murder. Kouchner politely argued that there were certain factors, which justified UN involvement in Hariri’s murder probe. First, he explained, Lebanon had accused the Syrians of involvement in the murder, so it came under the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council to intervene. Secondly, the government of Lebanon itself had made a request to the UNO to form a probe committee.

The situation in case of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination is quite different, as it was an internal issue of Pakistan and secondly, the government of Pakistan has not requested the UN Security Council for investigation.

When ‘The News’ contacted Senator Anwar Baig he refused to make any comment on his meeting with the French foreign minister. However, Senator Latif Khosa said they pleaded that Ms Bhutto’s murder should be probed by the UN as it was a fit case for the UN involvement.

Senator Khosa confirmed that the French foreign minister was of the view that the UN body might not be in a position to form a Hariri-type commission to probe Ms Bhutto’s murder. But, Khosa said, we tried to explain to the visiting dignitary that as the government of Pakistan itself had claimed that Al-Qaida was involved in the murder of Benazir Bhutto, so it was no more an internal issue of Pakistan. He said the PPP delegation requested the French government to use its influence to involve the Security Council to ensure independent probe.

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

Thakyou Yazdi, e330r was right then. This puts a new angle on this ting. Why reject scotland yard and insist on UN. Did Zadari know the limitations of UN? And if UN agrees, will Musharraf request it?

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

But then again it didn't say it was impossible because what about this:

NEW YORK: The United Nations has said it is ready to help Pakistan in its investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto if Islamabad makes a request for the world body’s assistance.

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

Well it looks PPP has almost conceded to Scotland Yard investigation…

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=12106

**PPP ready to cooperate with Scotland Yard **

Sherry insists on probing the incident through UN commission

By Asim Yasin

ISLAMABAD: Information Secretary Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sherry Rehman on Friday said the party will fully cooperate with the Scotland Yard team probing the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

“The Scotland Yard team will only carry out a police type investigations but we stick to our demand for probing the conspiracy of assassination of Benazir Bhutto through the United Nation Commission,” she said while talking to The News on Friday.

She also rubbished all assertions by the government officials that implied that Benazir Bhutto was herself responsible for her death, as she did not care for her security. “This is an insult to the Shaheed leader and all those who lost their lives with her,” she added.

She said the regime is essentially trying to say that they all deserved to die because they attended a public rally, which, she added, is their constitutional right. She said rather than admitting its own failure in safeguarding the life and property of Pakistani citizens, the regime is trying to tell people that “you will be responsible for the consequences if you try to exercise your fundamental rights”

“By insisting that Benazir Bhutto was responsible for her own death the regime is making a laughing stock of Pakistan all over the world, especially when we have all seen television footage of the shots being fired at her,” she added.

Sherry Rehman said the regime’s ludicrous statements describe the length they would go to hide the failure of the security apparatus that was responsible to ensure Benazir’s safety. “The video footage clearly shows the absence of adequate security around the PPP leader just when she was leaving the Liaquat Bagh premises and after. None of us were scanned when we went in, and nobody was scanned as we left as well,” she added.

She said the security lapses were so huge that Benazir Bhutto was left totally exposed to the assassins. The Mohtarma was clearly shot at, and the blast happened minutes later. The October 18 blasts followed a similar pattern. There was firing first, followed by the blasts," Sherry recalled.

The PPP leader also turned down the government assertions that hosing down Liaquat Bagh after the incident was “inefficiency”. “It’s very easy to label a criminal act as inefficiency. Anybody dealing with the case would know about the importance of preserving the sanctity of the crime scene,” she added.

She said the fact that it was hosed down the very next day on the pretext that traffic flow would get disrupted – even though there was no traffic on the roads for next three days – demonstrates that the regime was trying to sweep the issue under the carpet. “We have not named anybody as the possible killer, but people who have been trying to conceal the evidence need to be brought to the fore,” she insisted.

Sherry Rehman said that the regime gave a royal impunity to Bhutto’s killers by failing to take action against the killers behind the October 19 blasts. “They never heeded Benazir Bhutto’s demands that the inquiry be conducted by an international investigation team,” she added.

As a result, she said the inquiry today stands dangerously inconclusive and ends up in covering up the death of 170 innocent people. “This gave Benazir Bhutto’s killers a positive signal that they can go ahead with their mission since the regime’s non-seriousness towards a proper inquiry has always worked to the advantage of the hidden forces trying to destabilise Pakistan,” she added.

Given the enormity of the incident and its impact on Pakistan as well the region’s stability, she said the PPP has asked for an independent enquiry to be held under the auspices of the United Nations.

“We have welcomed the UN Security Council’s resolution on Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, and hope that all international forces will cooperate in unearthing the organisers, financiers, sponsors and perpetrators of this heinous crime,” she added. Sherry Rehman said the PPP also thanks the UK government for the security they have agreed to provide to its Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari while in the UK.

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

It seems UN may consider a probe team to investigate the murder if requested by Pakistan government.....but Pakistan government is under no obligation to request them....it is entirely the discretion of the Pakistan government...

Pakistan government was not under any obligation to invite Scotland Yard also....however if they have done so ....their initiative should be appreciated....

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Re: UN ready to probe BB Assasination

What are the chances of Scotland Yard tying the BB assassination to MQM and using that to oust Altaf Hussain. If a party is suspected,and if there is substantial proof, doesn't that mean the party head loses his citizenship under the Anti-Terrorism act and faces consequences?