ISLAMABAD, June 1 A group of eminent personalities has called for formation of two separate judicial commissions to investigate the assassinations of Benazir Bhutto and Nawab Akbar Bugti.

The “Civil-Military Dialogue Group” convened by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT), an NGO, which held detailed discussions on civil-military relations in the context of the challenges faced by the country, observed that assassinations of Ms Bhutto and Mr Bugti became tragic turning points in the recent history of Pakistan.

In a joint statement, the group noted that in their respective ways, the deaths of these two major political leaders had injected fresh mistrust and tension into the body politic of the country and continue to cast long shadows on civil-military relations.

Ms Bhutto's death deprived the nation and the world of a towering figure at a critical juncture when her presence could have made a decisive difference for the better for both Pakistan and the international community. The death of Nawab Bugti aggravated the alienation of the Baloch people and escalated tension to dangerous levels.

The group said that despite passage of several years there was neither a credible explanation nor precise identification of those responsible for these two dastardly acts. It said that in order to end speculations and suspicions and to establish public trust in the country's institutions, the government should form two separate and fully empowered independent, impartial judicial commissions comprising serving and retired justices of the Supreme Court.

The two commissions, the group said, should conduct comprehensive and conclusive investigations to determine all facts, name all and not just some of the individuals responsible for acts of omission and commission resulting in the deaths of the leaders, and thereby provide the basis for swift prosecution.

The group said that the on-going investigation into Ms Bhutto's assassination had very low and limited credibility, adding that there was a long, shameful history of such inquiries at this level being either a whitewash, a cover-up or a diversion to other people while those actually culpable going away scot-free.

It said that six weeks had lapsed since the publication of the UN Commission report into the assassination of Ms Bhutto and it raised serious and disturbing questions.

“These questions require explicit explanations and clarifications about the respective responsibilities of both the civil and military sectors in ensuring the security of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and on the immediate aftermath of her tragic death, particularly at or near the scene of the crime.”

The group urged the prime minister to immediately constitute a judicial commission to examine questions and issues raised by the UN report.

“It is only through the conduct of an independent, impartial, fully empowered judicial commission that actual facts and, hopefully the whole truth about the assassination, will eventually come to light,” the group said.

“Similarly, the other proposed judicial commission for inquiry into all aspects of circumstances resulting into the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti should be enabled to access, without hindrance, all relevant officials, records and data on this matter,” the group said.

The group said that both commissions should have clear and unambiguous terms of reference to exercise full authority and complete their reports and recommendations within six months.

Those who endorsed the statement included Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir, Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani, Lt Gen (retd) Talat Masood, Mr Sartaj Aziz, Mr Javed Jabbar, Ms Sherry Rehman, Mr Hasan-Askari Rizvi, Dr Imran Ali, Mr Mujib ur Rehman Shami, Mr Rustam Shah Mohmand, Mr Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, and Ms Aasiya Riaz.