KARACHI, Jan 7: As the United Nations prepares to send a mission to investigate the Dec 27 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the Karachi police have nothing significant to share with the international body about the investigation into the Oct 18 Karsaz attack on the PPP leader’s life, which is seen as a crucial part of the conspiracy hatched to eliminate the former prime minister.

Though the city police chief is willing to extend necessary cooperation to the UN mission while it investigates Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh tragedy, the investigators in the matter are in a fix over what they can offer to their foreign counterparts as far as the October 18 bombings are concerned.

“Our investigations are moving forward and there is no reason that we put it on hold to wait for the UN mission,” said Waseem Ahmed, capital city police officer. “If they (the UN mission) need anything to facilitate their investigations, our findings will be at their disposal.”

But background interviews with a couple of investigators and those who are close to the process led to the fact that there was hardly any ‘findings’ arrived at by the law enforcers during the course of investigations before and after the Pakistan People’s Party-led government came into power.

Moreover, the key witnesses to the event that Dawn spoke to have been waiting for a police call to record their statements to help trace the way the attack was planned, which further exposed the police performance on a very sensitive and important task.

“A couple of meetings have been held to discuss the investigation matter since a new FIR of the incident was lodged in October 2008 on the first anniversary of the incident, but they noted no progress,” said an official. “The team is there but the investigations have not moved to a significant level that can be termed as findings or clue to the motive and people behind the October 18 attacks.”

The Sindh government of the PPP sounded aggressive in October 2008 when it decided to have another FIR registered of the midnight attacks on Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming procession near Karsaz against unknown culprits on the basis of a written request of the deceased leader, though she had named at least three persons who, as she suspected, could be behind the tragic incident.

Statements of the home minister and police authorities indicated government seriousness to pursue the investigations, as they said on record that political personalities suspected by the deceased leader to be after her life could be made part of the process and questioned.

After nearly three months of the government claims, retired major-general Ahsan Ahmed, the individual in charge of security arrangements on October 18 assigned by Benazir Bhutto, who is currently living in Rawalpindi, wonders why he has not yet been called by any of the Karachi police investigators, feeling certain that his feedback could have led to some insights into the deadly attacks that killed more than 150 people and wounded more than 400 others.

“I have not been called by the police to share anything about the October 18 incident,” he said in a brief response, which cast serious doubts over the police determination to assist the UN mission, when it arrives on the PPP government’s request.

While the PPP is enjoying absolute power at the centre as well as in Sindh, the lethargic police approach towards the investigations into the Karsaz blasts appear to be a mystery for many observers while some question the authorities’ mood to reopen the probe into the Oct 18 tragedy.

“Priorities set goals,” said a senior official at one of the departments, which is supposed to monitor the investigation progress and give feedback. “In this (October 18) particular case, one can easily reach the conclusion that the government is in no mood to pursue it on serious lines and one should not blame the police alone for the situation.”