KARACHI: Karsaz tribunal warns two PPP leaders of ‘coercive process’
The tribunal headed by Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus Mohammad had summoned PPP leader Agha Siraj Durrani, Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and Maj-Gen (retd) Ahsan Ahmed – the three-member PPP team responsible for the overall security arrangements on the homecoming of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Oct 18 – to appear before the tribunal and record their statements on Monday. Only Maj-Gen (retd) Ahsan Ahmed appeared in the tribunal and testified before it and the two other leaders did not turn up.
The ex-serviceman’s appearance in the tribunal seems to be at odds with the stand adopted by the PPP that has not only refused to repose trust in the proceedings but has also called for the tribunal’s dissolution.
“Today, Agha Siraj Durrani and Dr Zulfiar Mirza were supposed to attend proceeding as witnesses. The process server informed us that Mr Durrani expressed his inability to attend the proceeding before the Feb 18 election. This excuse is not plausible. Let the process be repeated for the next date [February 4] and in case he fails to turn up, a coercive process will be adopted for securing his attendance,” the tribunal chief said.The tribunal’s liaison officer, SSP Niaz Khoso, and special prosecutor Arshad Lodhi also informed the tribunal that a notice had also been served on Dr Mirza but the process server was not well and therefore he could not attend the tribunal proceeding. “He [process server] should appear before the tribunal on Feb 4 for recording his statement. Since there is no intimation from Dr Zulfiqar Mirza in the first instance, a bailable warrant be issued against him after recording the statement of the process server,” the tribunal told its registrar, Zahoor Ahmed Hakro, and the liaison officer.
Earlier, PPP leader Maj-Gen (retd) Ahsan Ahmed deposed that he had attended the meetings held at the office of the inspector-general of police and the home department relating to security arrangements for the arrival of Ms Bhutto.
He said that after the announcement of Ms Bhutto’s return plan, he had sent an email containing a conceptual paper of the strategy for her security upon which Ms Bhutto had instructed him to join the security team already working in Karachi. “I moved from Rawalpindi to Karachi for this purpose and contacted Naheed Khan, who told me that Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and Agha Siraj Durrani were already working on the subject.”
He said it was decided that Dr Mirza and Mr Durrani would be responsible for security in the field while he was working with them as a consultant.
Unarmed volunteers
He testified that it was a part of the conceptual security plan that volunteers of the PPP should be utilized to control the crowd and under no circumstances anybody be allowed to carry or display weapons. “I can say with certainty that all the volunteers were unarmed,” he added.
The PPP leader informed the tribunal that it was the duty of Dr Mirza and Mr Durrani to get about 300 PPP volunteers to the airport and also to screen them for security duty. “On Oct 18, I reached the airport at about 8.30am and went to the Mehran Lounge, where three teams of the bomb disposal squad searched the whole area in my presence.”
Answering a question, he said Ms Bhutto had specifically asked the federal government for nominating SSP Major (retd) Imtiaz Ahmed for her security.
He said that before the arrival of Ms Bhutto, he was informed that the crowd outside the lounge had become huge and a lot of people were forcing their way into the lounge. He said he also saw the whole area filled with about 3,000 people.
He said that he along with Maj (retd) Imtiaz was following the float carrying Ms Bhutto in a bullet-proof car to ensure that nobody occupied the vehicle which could be used in case of an emergency .
Maj-Gen (retd) Ahmed deposed that when the caravan was between Star Gate and Terminal 1, he received a text message on his cellphone from Capital City Police Officer Azhar Ali Farooqi, asking him to request Ms Bhutto to stand behind the bullet-proof glass shield on the roof of the float. “For the first time it came to my notice that Ms Bhutto was not standing behind the shield because from my vehicle I could not see her position. The second thing I noticed was that the jammers were not working because I received the text message on my cellphone.”
He said he sent Maj (retd) Imtiaz to convey his message to Ms Bhutto to stand behind the bullet-proof shield and also inquire from police officials manning the jammer-fitted vehicles that why the jammers were not working. “Major Imtiaz went outside and returned after 10 minutes and informed me that Ms Bhutto had declined to stand behind the glass. About the jammers he said he was told by police that the jammers were old vintage and the batteries were not being charged because their vehicles were barely crawling.”
He deposed that when the sun set, he noticed that the streetlights were off. “From the Star Gate to Karsaz we observed that at some points the streetlights were on and at others they were off. When we reached the Karsaz bridge, the lights on the airport side of the bridge were on but as we crossed the bridge the lights were off.”
“When we were a little short of the Shell petrol pump on the left on Sharea Faisal, a blast took place near the front of the float on the left,” he said, adding that the second blast took place behind the site of the first blast seconds after he alighted from his vehicle to remove a police mobile van which had come to a standstill, blocking the doorway of the float after the first blast.
He said he suffered an injury on his right leg and later, when he regained consciousness, he was informed by a man that Ms Bhutto was not wounded and was evacuated safely. Later, he was moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in an ambulance but at the main gate he took a taxi and went to PNS Shifa (hospital) for treatment.
Answering a question, he said he joined the PPP on Oct 22, 2002.
Sniffer dogs
The tribunal asked him that why sniffer dogs were not used though it was decided at a meeting that sniffer dogs would be hired from the Rangers. “It was the duty of the special branch of police to hire sniffer dogs, but I have no knowledge if that was,” he said.
Answering another question, Maj-Gen Ahmed conceded that he did not inquire from the head of the BDS teams why sniffer dogs were not arranged. “The reason was that as per our understanding with police the sniffer dogs were supposed to be used on the route in front of the rally.”
“Did you try to contact the additional IG (special branch) to inform him that sniffer dogs were not being used?” inquired Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus, to which the PPP leader conceded that he did not contact the AIG about the sniffer dogs. He added that it was his perception that police personnel with sniffer dogs must be moving ahead of the rally. “Did you send anyone to find out whether sniffer dogs were being used?” the tribunal asked, upon which he said he did not send anyone.
In response to another question, the witness said that all the volunteers were specially uniformed and they were holding a thick rope to stop jostling people forcing their way through the cordon.
He said he was well aware that there were threats to Ms Bhutto’s life. He told the tribunal that it was not possible that Ms Bhutto could have agreed to be airlifted or sent home by any other means instead of leading the rally.
“Did you advise Ms Bhutto to postpone her return plan?” the tribunal asked, to which the witness replied that through emails he had discussed the threat perception with Ms Bhutto but did not advise her to postpone her return plan because it would have been very damaging for the PPP. “I had also advised her to wear a bullet-proof jacket and stand behind the bullet-proof glass shield.”
“Can you tell this tribunal from which direction she (Ms Bhutto) apprehended danger to her life?” asked the tribunal, to which Maj-Gen (retd) Ahmed replied that Ms Bhutto was very sceptical about security of emails and would never discuss such specifics on email. “In fact her instructions were that all emails should be deleted immediately after being read and no minutes of our meeting regarding security should be kept,” he added.
He said that after the Karsaz blasts he had met Ms Bhutto in the Bilawal House to discuss the security issues. “Her brief response was that the responsibility of her security rested entirely with the government.”
“There is no dearth of international firms that provide security. Why were they not consulted or hired?” the tribunal said, upon which the witness said: “I can only give my opinion because there was no stated policy on this aspect. What I understand is there was already a lot of criticism against Ms Bhutto for being in political exile for eight years, so bringing in foreigners for security purposes would have been damaging politically. If foreigners had been hired for this purpose, resentment among the workers would have increased manifold.”
Answering a question, he said Dr Mirza was given the responsibility to train the volunteers, particularly those present in the inner circle.
He said that after the incident, he was invited by then Sindh IG Major (retd) Ziaul Hasan to his office, where a detailed discussion was held.
He said that both of them had differed on many things, including non-functioning of jammers, streetlights issue, unchecked vehicles on the route of the rally, etc.
Earlier, the head of the emergency department of the JPMC, Dr Seemin Jamali, deposed before the tribunal.
In reply to a question, she said she had received one severed head which was brought in an ambulance, but she could not say exactly who had brought it.
She said that the severed head could be the result of the blast. “I saw two bodies inclined to each other and mutilated on the upper chest and abdomen. It could be because the two persons might be holding each other,” she added.
Meanwhile, the tribunal has also received a copy of a letter from Sen Farooq H. Naek, the PPP’s legal adviser, addressed to the home and law secretaries, requesting them to dissolve the tribunal.
Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus said the tribunal had nothing to do with the contents of the letter and, therefore, it should be filed.
The tribunal adjourned the proceeding till Jan 30.