2nd Anniversary: Who killed Benazir Bhutto? Some clues here

Editorials Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Sometimes getting away from the trees and looking at the forest helps you understand the reality more clearly. As we wrote the day after the assassination a murder is investigated on the concept of motive, opportunity and profit from the murder (benefit to the murderer). We first looked at the international arena and investigated the players on the scene Amazingly the beneficiaries of the death of Benazir Bhutto are not those who were blamed initially for her death.

The very strange signals made by Mr. Khalid Shahanshah. The hand runs across the throat eyes point towards Ms. Bhutto.

1) Benazir Bhutto as single and the political heir to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. To avoid the repeat of the “Pinky rumors” she had to establish credibility, offer a stable home and produce children for the Bhutto family. She interviewed many potential candidates and was charmed by the “humor” of Mr. Zardari. This was her biggest blunder for which the Pakistani nation would have have to pay a huge price. Benazir Bhutto’s revenge from the grave: Annointing a despised and corrupt politician Mr. 10% as her successor

2) During her short reigns in office, Mr. Zardari stole money from the treasure and was known as Mr. 10%. He was indicted in Pakistan and foreign courts. For years he claimed that the Surray Palace did not belong to him Eventually it was revealed that through a series of surrogates he had hidden the ownership of the palace.

3) After her removal from office…a decade passed and Mr. Zardari spent time in jail for real and imaginary crimes.

4) In recent times Mr. Husain Haqqaniwas used as a crowbar to get the US to listen to Ms. Bhutto. Eventually a deal wa made which would allow Benazir Bhutto to go to Pakistan and get elected.

5) In various interviews she informed the world that Mr. Zardari was very sick and constrained in New York due to health reasons. He was not allowed to run in the parliamentary elections and was not even allowed to live in Dubai or return to Pakistan. Khar accuses! Banazir’s will a fake?…plot thickens

6) Mr. Zardari’s connections with the underworld were well known. Moin Ansari has reported this. Saleem Shehzad’s article is posted below (in the appendix). Now we hear that the other person of interest in the assassination has now been assassinated. Mr. Khalid Shahanshahwas removed from the scene because of the fear that he would open his mouth.

7) THE CASE OF THE BOBBING HEAD, THE HAND ACROSS THE NECK AND THE EYES POINTING TOWARDS MS. BHUTTO: The murder of Khalid Shahanshah has been blamed rather quickly on the ‘terrorists’ by Sind Home minister. It is to be noted that Mr. Khalid Shahanshah had a very controversial background which included a record of criminal cases. He was a Pakistan Students Federation (PSF) activist, gang member, and one of the body guards of Benazir Bhutto. Watch the bobbing head of Mr. Shahanshah. His strange actions on the stage where BB addresses her last public meeting were surely controversial. In the video he was the person second from right in patterned sleeveless sweater. Mr. Shahanshah looks to his left, then he sits down. He then runs his neck across his throat or holds his neck in a strange manner and finally he rolls his eyes towards Ms. Benazir Bhutto. Is he signalling the killer to murder Ms. Bhutto?

IMPLICATED BY RAMSEY YOUSAF:-ARRESTED: Mr. Rehman Malik was in charge of the security of Ms. Benazir Bhutto. Why did Rehman Malik predict minutes that something is going to happen before the attack? Mr. Rehman Malik described the bomb attack of such a low intensity that his fellow passenger asks him if it was a tire burst. In Rehman words, he replied, “no this was a bomb.” He however says that the bomb was of such intensity that it blew out his left ear drum. After the bomb attack, Rehman Malik did communicate with his brother in the car behind Benazir’s car, but he didn’t try to call anyone in Benazir’s car: Naheed Khan, Amin Faheem, SP Major Imtiaz, Safdar Abbasi & 2 other persons were in Ms. Bhutto’s care. Yet Rehman and company kept driving towards hospital without any communication with Ms. Bhutto’s car and without knowing if they were also going towards the hospital.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ePnXzAosjuo

Right after the assassination Mr. Zardari promoted the person who was in charge of her security and made him the Chief Minister of Punjab–Mr. Rehman Malik. India intelligence: “‘the aim of RAW is to keep internal disturbances flaring up and the ISI preoccupied so that Pakistan can lend no worthwhile resistance to Indian designs in the region.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JxrBzPY6cy4&feature=related

Here are the questions that need to be asked.

1. What was the blueprint of the security plan agreed and executed?

2. How many police vehicles were designated and deployed around the truck carrying Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and the party leadership?

3. Did any driver of these vehicles and any security personnel traveling in these vehicles changed the vehicles before the blast/explosions? If so, why were the duties of the drivers changed?

4. What was the position of these vehicles before the blast and which police vehicle was severely damaged and what is the analytical report on this vehicle?

5. Was the entire scene photographed and videotaped?

6. How many Jammers were commissioned on the day of incident and their locations before the blast? What was the make of the Jammers and their origin?

7. Why were these Jammers not functioning fully as the phones were operational from time to time?

8. Was the Senior Security Personnel/Incharge aware of the non-operation of the Jammers on the day of incident? If so, what action or security measures did they take to prevent any incident? Was this lapse/non-functioning of the Jammers brought to the notice of the higher authority, if so to whom? It was our great concern as to why this lapse was not attended?

9. How many security personnel/officers were detailed in uniform and in civilian clothes, respectively? Obviously the VIP protection is done in combination of uniformed force and without uniform as per security arrangements. As to how the security personnel in plain clothes failed to intercept the culprit/operator of the blast?

10. Were the security personnel aware of any marriage ceremony to be held in the evening of the rally and its proximity of the rally/route? If so, what precautionary measures were taken to prevent any explosive incident under the cover of the crackers noise? Did the investigation carry out so far indicated the celebration of any marriage ceremony in the vicinity and in proximity of the rally?

11 Why the streets lights were put off before the incident and what action was taken to resort the streetlights within the shortest possible time? Is there any TV footage as per claim of the GOP that the streetlights were on?

12. The footage indicates that a Suzuki Alto was found parked just behind the vehicle engulfed in flames after blast. In line with security measures, this vehicle must not have been allowed to remain parked there, which could have provided a cover to the perpetrators of the blast.

a) Why some one should leave the vehicle at the route where heavy procession was going on?

b) Who is the owner of the Alto car? What is its chassis and engine number ?

c) Why the Police Petrol did not remove it before the arrival of MBB motorcade?

d) Why some one should leave his vehicle exposed to risk of its change by the moving huge crowd?

e) Footage also show a Pajero/Landcruiser. What was its chassis and engine number and who did it belong to?

13. What precautions were introduced to prevent any remote controlled explosion on the day of incident and in the future as well? Was there any alternative Jammer?

14. Was a proper screening carried out of the credentials and professionalism of the security personnel deployed for the security of the rally and Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto? What was their religion and ethnic background?

15. What was the maximum and minimum length of service of these personnel? If any of them was recruited in the recent past, what was his background i.e. profession before joining the security forces? The internal reports of IB/ISI/MI may be of great help.

16. What are the reports of the Intelligence Personnel who were deputed to cover the procession?

17. Was an attempt made to handover a small child to Mohtarma on the truck through help of Police Mobile? Did this mobile blow up either while pushing the child/person carrying the child? Was the child thrown in the Police Mobile?

18. Do dismembered bodies of the Police mobile mean that an explosive was put into it or thrown into it when it blocked access to MBB Truck.

The PPP letter has identified the post incident events as under:

1. There were two explosions on one side at a distance of few meters around the motorcade. If it was suicidal explosion, as claimed by the authorities and the investigators, then how the terrorists could find their way to the proximity of the motorcade of Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto despite the alleged ‘fool-proof’ security arrangements?
2. It is reported in the press that RDXweighing about 14-15 kg was used in the explosion. Has the forensic and scientific examination identified it as commercialor military substance? What kind of explosive material was used? Has the type and make of detonator been found if so which origin?

3. The reports also suggest that the trajectory was directed away from the truck in a cone shape. The explosive experts suggest that the shrapnel-directions of the blast by RDXcan be managed and fashioned according to the need but a suicidal bomber would have no control over the direction of the shrapnel. What the forensic experts associated with the investigation conclude on this point?

(a) What are the findings of the forensic examination of the vehicles damaged, especially the Suzuki ALTO, as a result of blast and the scene of occurrence? Has the ALTO car received inside or outward impact?

(b) What is the possibility if the suiciders (if it was suicider attack) were sitting already on the same Alto and used the said vehicle to transport himself/themselves and came out when the MBB truck moved nearby.

5. Did the forensic experts find any hidden jumping bomb and detonator/sleeves on the crime scene? If so, what were their make, model and origin?

6. If it were normal explosions, placed in the nearby-parked vehicle, as to why the security personnel did not remove this vehicle from the scene as a part of the security arrangements?

7. Did the DNA test identify the identity of the alleged suicidal bombers?

8. (a) What forensic examination of the scene and all the vehicles involved has revealed as to the cause and nature of the explosion? A copy of the said report/result would be appreciated.
(b) How many the eye has recorded statements witnesses. A summary of their statements would much be appreciated.

9. What forensic and scientific facilities are available in the country and what is the degree of their reliability? A complete forensic and scientific analysis of the scene is required and we expect this needs to be made public.

10. Is there any independent evidence to conclude that it was a suicidal incident or it is being merely based on the non-existence of any crater on the ground?

11. A friendly country had warned the Government of Pakistan along with the contacts and telephone numbers in Pakistan about the possible terrorist incident. Did the Government of Pakistan make any investigation in the matter on the basis of the information/intelligence lead provided and what is the result of the probe? Similarly, has the said report been made a part of the investigation?

12. We understand that the Crime scene was not preserved properly and obviously the valuable and evidential material must have been lost without have come on record.

13. As you can see these are quite basic questions to firstly establish the reliability of the security arrangements made for the day and secondly to follow the course of investigation as it develops over the days. We are quite confident to conclude that had the security arrangements made appropriately and the identification and arrest of the culprits as per the report of friendly country, such an incident could not have happened. There were, of course, serious lapses in the arrangements as pointed out above.

14. The following senior leadership of the PPP was present in the truck besides Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto:-

(1) Makhdoom Amin Faheem
(2) Aftab Shaban Mirani
(3) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
(4) Senator Safdar Abbasi
(5) Ms. Naheed Khan
(6) Dr. A. Rehman Malik
(7) Sen. Jehangir Badr
(8) Ambassador Abida Hussain
(9) Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi & son.
(10) Christina Lamb
(11) Victoria Schofreld.
(12) Mrs. Crawford.
(13) Mr. Alexander Khan
(14) Mrs. Hakim Ali Zardari.
(15) Murad Ali Shah
(16) Guards
(17) Razaak
(18) Makhdoom Yousaf Raza Gillani
(19) Ms. Sherry Rahman
(20) Akram Baloach
(21) Khalid Shahanshah
(22) Ms. Fehmida Mirza

15. In addition to above Ms. Christina Lamb, the Journalist from Daily Telegraph was also one of the victims and eyewitness of the incident. No body has approached them so far, for their statement. There are serious objections, which have been raised on the second FIR lodged by PPP, but there is a Ruling of Supreme Court of Pakistan whereby the second FIR can be lodged with a different aspect of the matter. In reality it is the right of the victim to lodge a FIR and not the STATE. In this case PPPhas lodged the FIR with new aspect and being the victim of the said attack.

16. We hope that our observations may be helpful to you in tracing the culprits. In view of our strong observations we still feel that foreign experts on forensic can analyze the incident more scientifically to provide a speedy road map to conclude the investigation to the satisfaction of the people of Pakistan.

17) After BB’s murder, the above video was run by many channels including DAWN News and Rehman Malik denied Khalid Shahenshah or his responsibility in his BB’s secuirty lapses. (See Daily Times of Jan. 06, 2008). (continued below….)

According to the post of Januray 4, 2008:

PPP sources have reported that the moment Benazirended her address, this (servant) man was the first one to dive into her bullet proof Land Cruiser; an unusual change from past routine whilst he always boarded the vehicle after Benazir, often hanging by the external pedestals of her Cruiser, as was evident in videos.

One other household servant and Dr Safdar Abbassigot seated in the rear portion of the Cruiser, and when the suicide bomber blew himself apart, Khalid was also present in the Cruiser. Afterwards he (Khalid) went over to the Zardari House, Islamabad where he lived for two days, and did not visit Naudero despite Benazir’s death, making it there on third day. When informed about the video of his antics he promptly disappeared from the scene, over the excuse of his mother’s death.

The CIA connection… BENAZIR BHUTTO’S ASSASSINATION WAS PRE-PLANNED: THE ZIA MODEL WITH A TWIST: THE GREAT GAME CONTINUES: When the Elephants dance, the grass gets crushed. The continued CIA conspiracies in Pakistan. Another Pakistani leaders falls to an international game between the USA, China and Russia. Pakistanis again pay the price
Part 1: Summary of Article: The CIA connection…The Benazir Assassination…Summary of Article–Setting the background

Part 2: Details of Article: Details of the Assassination: The International Angle

Political assassinations, judicial murders, military takeover, and manipulated coup de etatsby unelected leaders are seminal events in the history of any nation. The asassination of Benazir Bhutto is all the more traumatic for Pakistanis and others because “nothing seems like what it is”. Any murder is investigated on the concept of motive, opportunity and benifits from the murder. The same criteria has to be applied to the death of Benazir Bhutto. The beneficiaries of the death of Benazir Bhutto are not those who were blamed initially for her death.

Editors Note: This article investigates the real reasons for the death of Benazir Bhutto and the reasons behind the events that happened just before her murder. This remains the most popular articles on this site with many thousands of hits. We keep updating it. Visit it often and leave feedback! It has also spawned many other articles. Reuters page (This article reviewed by Reuters analysis):, India vs. Pakistan–Gwador vs. Chabahar.

The mainstream media has finally caught up with the verity of this article.

On Jan 23rd, The Peoples Daily and Tehran Times clearly blamed outside interference in Pakistan. On Jan 9th, The New York times confirmed the “CIA” coverts operations in Pakistan. On Feb 9th, 2008, Mr. Hamid Gul, Pakistan’s Master spy validated the story about the CIAs involvement in the assassination.

As we updated the article the volume of information available became large. The summary itself has grown to the size of a full fledged article. We are inclined to totally reformat the article but do not want to risk losing our readership and the links which have been posted globally to it.

Background of the Assassination

The Pakistan Army and it head at the time, President Musharraf refuses to allow Pakistani airspace, and disallow the USA to attack Iran from Pakistani bases. Pakistan refuses to join in the fight against Iran. Despite objections, Pakistan continues to work on a pipeline from Iran through Pakistan to India. This situation is very similar to what Khan Liaqat Ali Khan faced in 1952. LAK also refused to fight against Iran. (see detailed article on this with actual declassified US embassy reports from 1953). Spy vs. Spy: Kabul, London, Delhi, Islamabad and Swat. Taliban prepare for Spring. We now present the summary and then the thesis accompanied with the citations from a plethora of sources.
The Strategy for the Assassination

The Benazir assassination was pre-planned and executed via triangulation by Khad, RAW, CIA and Mossad using the most modern radio active weapons available in the market. The Israeli PM publicly admitted helping India in Kargil recently.
The purpose of the covert Khad, RAW, CIA, Mossad operations is to destabilize Pakistan. The IMF plan to de-fang Pakistan in 2000 did not work, but provincial autonomy will make the center bankrupt triggering an implosion. See article on IMF tactics for Pakistan
The Assassination and the Destabilization

APPENDIX A

‘The up-and-coming PPP emperor’ Maqbool Malik, The Nation, March 12, 2008
ISLAMABAD – Circumstances, if not personal desire, have pushed PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari to become a king rather a kingmaker.
It would appear that Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, who has been busy day and night since his arrival in the Federal capital on February 18th, has finally opted to become next Prime Minister of the country.

Party insiders told The Nation on Tuesday that Asif has also picked up lieutenant for the stopgap arrangement until he is able to make his way into the National Assembly.

For the interim period, Asif Zardari has short-listed probable candidates for what could termed as temporal premiership that includes names of two women and three men, all from Sindh.

Sources claimed the list included the names of Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Shahid Bhutto, Aftab Shahban Mirani, Dr. Fahmida Mirza and Faryal Talpur.

This list does not include any name from Punjab, as has been widely speculated, because none of the hopefuls from Punjab are ready to serve for the stop-gap period.

Sources said Asif’s move was aimed at surmounting the challenges he currently faces and the only way to do so was becoming Prime Minister himself.

“Why not? The iron man perhaps deserves more than this”, an insider quipped outside the Zardari House (wealth abode), which is located in F-8, adjacent to the same lane where most of country’s political elite live.
Asif Zaradi, sources claimed, had to face the most serious challenges since martyrdom of his beloved wife and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

“He is no more the person who was maligned and dubbed with different titles in the mid 90s. He is a changed man who has learnt the art of diplomacy as well as making the impossible possible,” he added.
The unpredictable Asif Zardari has not only been successful in foiling divisive attempts but has been successful in bracing the uphill task of keeping the party a vibrant political entity of the country.

He has been working fulltime to attain that goal, a source said, adding he has not only frustrated attempts of President Pervez Musharraf in sowing seeds of schism in the party but successfully maneuvered to counter these attempt by aligning the party with other elected democratic forces.

“One must give him credit for the manner in which he befriended past political foes”, the sources said while referring to the PPP’s coalition with the PML (N).

It was due to Asif that the era of enmity that started in 1988 has been translated into a long-term friendship with PML (N).

He had to undergo tremendous torture but remained steadfast in facing the charges leveled against him.
The witty Asif Zardarihas intelligently come out of all the troubles he had been put into by all and sundry and for the past one hundred days, he has been successful in creating his loyal supporters in the party’s rank and file.

Still, keeping his political cards close to his chest, Asif Zardari, party insiders said, has been busy day and night in consultations with party cadres that had virtually made him first to none when it comes to national leadership.
Party sources further said that he is being pressurized by the party to opt to head the PPP-led government for several reasons, party unity being top on the list.

APPENDIX B

Dawood: ‘War on terror’ takes a strange turn By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI – The recent announcement by United States authorities declaring an Indian underworld don a “holy warrior” indicates that perhaps the “war on terror” and crackdown on al-Qaeda are running short of real targets.

A US Treasury Department announcement on October 16 designated Dawood Ibrahim as a “specially designated global terrorist under Executive Order 13224″, which means that he joins Osama bin Laden and 320 others who hold a similar distinction.

Dawood Ibrahim, alias Sheikh Dawood Hassan, a notorious character who hails from the Indian city of Mumbai, is known to have lived in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, as well as the major port city of Pakistan, Karachi. He is also an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts in which at least 257 people lost their lives.

The Treasury designation freezes any assets belonging to Dawood within the US and prohibits transactions with US nationals. The US is also shortly expected to request that the United Nations put him on its list of terrorists as well. A UN listing will require that all its member states take similar action.

A fact sheet issued with the October 16 notification says that Dawood, the son of a police constable, has reigned as one of the preeminent criminals in the Indian underworld for most of the past two decades. Dawood’s syndicate, it says, is involved in large-scale shipments of narcotics in the United Kingdom and Western Europe.

The syndicate’s smuggling routes, the fact sheet says, from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa are shared with Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network. “Successful routes established over recent years by Ibrahim’s [Dawood's] syndicate have been subsequently utilized by bin Laden. A financial arrangement was reportedly brokered to facilitate the latter’s usage of these routes. In the late 1990s, Ibrahim traveled in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban.

“Ibrahim’s syndicate has consistently aimed to destabilize the Indian government through inciting riots, acts of terrorism and civil disobedience. He is currently wanted by India for the March 12, 1993 Bombay Exchange bombings, which killed hundreds of Indians and injured over a thousand more. Information, from as recent as Fall 2002, indicates that Ibrahim has financially supported Islamic militant groups working against India, such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba [LeT]. For example, this information indicates that Ibrahim has been helping finance increasing attacks in Gujarat by LeT.
“Lashkar-e-Tayyiba [Army of the Righteous - Lashkar-i-Taiba, LeT] is the armed wing of Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irsha [MDI] – a Sunni anti-US missionary organization formed in 1989. The United States added LeT to the list of designated terrorists in October 2001. The group was banned by the Pakistani government, and its assets frozen, in January 2002,” the fact sheet reported.

The US information also included the number of a Pakistani passport (G869537) said to be used by Dawood, and listed his residence as Karachi.
What is surprising about all of this information just now released by US authorities is that it contains nothing new. Elements of it have regularly appeared in the Indian media (including the passport number and his alleged telephone numbers).

Pakistani authorities, as they have done to the latest US release, have denied that Dawood, or any other people wanted by India, are on “Pakistani soil”.
Certainly, Dawood has not been sighted in Karachi or Dubai for some time, but while he was flitting between these two cities his activities must have been well known to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
While in Karachi, Dawood, known as David or Bhai (brother), earned a reputation in the city’s underworld for his religious beliefs, passion, and his network was well known.

In earlier days, religion was not a major issue for Dawood. But after moving to Karachi his interaction with members of the former Mumbai community (Memons, Kathiawaris, Gujratis and Kokanis)who had settled in the city before and after the partition of British India in 1947, introduced him to some business-cum-religious-cum-political figures, such as Haji Hanif Tayyab and Amin Pardesi.

This entire circle, including Dawood, is Barelvi, a religious sect to which Muslims of the India-Pakistan region belong and which is diametrically different from the Wahhabi (Salafi) and Deobandi schools of thought that characterize religious militancy. The Barelvi school places emphasis on paying respect to tombs and shrines, and it believes that the bodies in shrines can bestow blessings on those who visit them. The Barelvi school does not deal much with the issues of vice and virtue, and jihad has never been a part of this sect.

Conversely, the Wahhabi and Deobandi schools do not believe in shrines, indeed, they would like to see them all demolished, and they preach that only Allah can bestow blessings if one prays to him. They are also very strict on matters of vice and virtue, and jihad is one of the most emphasized chapters of their teachings.

When Maulana Masood Azhar (founder of the banned militant Sunni Islamic group Jaish-i-Mohammed) was detained in India, somebody asked Dawood to use his contacts to have him released. Dawood’s straight response was: “Impossible, he is a Deobandi.”

The Lashkar-i-Taiba, another militant group that is active in Jammu and Kashmir, is even more extremist compared to the Deobandis. It does not even accept clean-shaven people into its organization. Before any military training, members have to undertake a course lasting several months to ensue that the recruit is compatible with the set standards of vice and virtue. These facts could not be unknown to intelligence quarters, including the CIA.

And it was not as if Dawood made much effort to keep a low profile. Whether in Dubai or Karachi, he was courted by top SouthAsian cricketers for his cricket betting activities. Similarly, with regard to Bollywood, hardly a film could be produced in India without investment from Dawood. Dawood’s guests were always lavishly entertained, and the best Scotch whiskies flowed, even in a dry country.

Dawood’s underworld connects are extensive, and he “sublets” his name in Pakistan, Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, among other countries, to “franchises” in the fields of drug trafficking and gambling dens.

Dawood took a turn from his “normal” activities in the early 1990s when Bombay (as Mumbai was then known) was stricken with communalviolence, with Muslims in particular badly victimized at the hands of Hindu extremists, culminating in the series of deadly blasts in 1993. Dawood is widely linked to these, and has been a wanted man in India ever since.
At this time, one of his juniors, Chota Rajan, a Hindu, turned against Dawood, and was cultivated by India’s Research and Analysis intelligence wing. In turn, Dawood became the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence’s “Bombay connection”.

Chota Rajan has tried on several occasions to attack Dawood’s interests in Bangkok and in Karachi, but only in the absence of Dawood as his presence anywhere reportedly still horrifies Rajan. Attacks earlier this year on the Kawish Crown Plaza in Karachi – a building owned by Dawood – were only made because there has been no trace of Dawood in the city for a long time.
In the past two years, not a single member of D-Company, as Dawood’sgang is known, has been caught in connection with any plot against the US. Had D-company been engaged in a terror campaign against the US it could have found many “soft bellies” in the Asia-Pacific region and in South Africa, where it is strong enough to carry out small-scale attacks, such as planting bombs or trafficking al-Qaeda members to carry out attacks.

Dawood had three prominent operators in Karachi – Shoaib Khan, Ibrahaim Bholo and Shahanshah Khalid. Initially, all three worked well together, but in time they began to feud. Bholo was kidnapped and killed, according to some reports by ShoaibKhan over differences over a drug deal in South Africa. Khalid and Khan continue their gang warfare.

Khan’s political leanings are well known – he worked as a mercenary killer for the Muttahida Quami Movement, an ethnocentric party whose leader has been in exile in London for a decade, as well as for the People’s Students Federation, a wing of the Pakistani People’s Party (PPP) led by former premier Benazir Bhutto. Khalid is also a member of the PPPand contested last October’s general election on its ticket. Like his “associates”, Dawood has not been linked to any jihad or extremist political organization.
There are many other big mafia gangs in Thailand, Hong Kong and South Africa, and compared to them, D-Company is nothing. Yet now Dawood is portrayed by US authorities as a terror ring leader under Pakistan’s protection.

No doubt India is delighted, but as a shot in the “war on terror”, this one seems wide of the mark.

APPENDIX C

Suspicious characters:

Suspicious characters

On October 18, PPP’s Traffic In charge for the Chairperson’s rally in Karachi and former Senator Masroor Ahsanand his team apprehended two armed men from the rally red-handed, who were trying to proceed towards Airport. They both were handed over to DSP Fayyaz there.

The news in this regard appeared in Daily Nawa-e-Waqt on October 19, 2007
along with their photographs in police mobile.

APPENDIX D

PPP demands security plan on BB arrival

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Wednesday wrote a letter to the government to explain some mysterious and unexplained happenings before and after the October 18 attack on the party rally that killed more than 100 people and injured several hundred more.
The letter was signed by Rehman Malik, Security Adviser to the former Prime Minister and sent to the Interior Secretary on Wednesday.

“The leadership of the PPP and whole nation is utterly shocked and in search of answers to these questions”, the letter addressed to the Interior Secretary said.

Nearly three dozen questions, divided into two sub-sections pertaining to pre- blast and post blast have been raised in the PPP letter.

The party has demanded the blueprint of the security plan devised on the eve of BenazirBhutto’s arrivaland an answer to the questions whether the explosives used in the attack were of military or commercial.
The events before the blasts and about which questions have been raised in latter by the PPP are as follows:

1. What was the blueprint of the security plan agreed and executed?
2. How many police vehicles were designated and deployed around the truck carrying Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and the party leadership?
3. Did any driver of these vehicles and any security personnel traveling in these vehicles changed the vehicles before the blast/explosions? If so, why were the duties of the drivers changed?
4. What was the position of these vehicles before the blast and which police vehicle was severely damaged and what is the analytical report on this vehicle?
5. Was the entire scene photographed and videotaped?
6. How many Jammers were commissioned on the day of incident and their locations before the blast? What was the make of the Jammers and their origin?
7. Why were these Jammers not functioning fully as the phones were operational from time to time?
8. Was the Senior Security Personnel/Incharge aware of the non-operation of the Jammers on the day of incident? If so, what action or security measures did they take to prevent any incident? Was this lapse/non-functioning of the Jammers brought to the notice of the higher authority, if so to whom? It was our great concern as to why this lapse was not attended?
9. How many security personnel/officers were detailed in uniform and in civilian clothes, respectively? Obviously the VIP protection is done in combination of uniformed force and without uniform as per security arrangements. As to how the security personnel in plain clothes failed to intercept the culprit/operator of the blast?
10. Were the security personnel aware of any marriage ceremony to be held in the evening of the rally and its proximity of the rally/route? If so, what precautionary measures were taken to prevent any explosive incident under the cover of the crackers noise? Did the investigation carry out so far indicated the celebration of any marriage ceremony in the vicinity and in proximity of the rally?
11 Why the streets lights were put off before the incident and what action was taken to resort the streetlights within the shortest possible time? Is there any TV footage as per claim of the GOP that the streetlights were on?
12. The footage indicates that a Suzuki Alto was found parked just behind the vehicle engulfed in flames after blast. In line with security measures, this vehicle must not have been allowed to remain parked there, which could have provided a cover to the perpetrators of the blast.
a) Why some one should leave the vehicle at the route where heavy procession was going on?
b) Who is the owner of the Alto car? What is its chassis and engine number ?
c) Why the Police Petrol did not remove it before the arrival of MBB motorcade?
d) Why some one should leave his vehicle exposed to risk of its change by the moving huge crowd?
e) Footage also show a Pajero/Landcruiser. What was its chassis and engine number and who did it belong to?
13. What precautions were introduced to prevent any remote controlled explosion on the day of incident and in the future as well? Was there any alternative Jammer?
14. Was a proper screening carried out of the credentials and professionalism of the security personnel deployed for the security of the rally and Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto? What was their religion and ethnic background?
15. What was the maximum and minimum length of service of these personnel? If any of them was recruited in the recent past, what was his background i.e. profession before joining the security forces? The internal reports of IB/ISI/MI may be of great help.
16. What are the reports of the Intelligence Personnel who were deputed to cover the procession?
17. Was an attempt made to handover a small child to Mohtarma on the truck through help of Police Mobile? Did this mobile blow up either while pushing the child/person carrying the child? Was the child thrown in the Police Mobile?
18. Do dismembered bodies of the Police mobile mean that an explosive was put into it or thrown into it when it blocked access to MBB Truck.
The PPP letter has identified the post incident events as under:
1. There were two explosions on one sideat a distance of few meters around the motorcade. If it was suicidalexplosion, as claimed by the authorities and the investigators, then how the terrorists could find their way to the proximity of the motorcade of Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto despite the alleged ‘fool-proof’ security arrangements?
2. It is reported in the press that RDXweighing about 14-15 kg was used in the explosion. Has the forensic and scientific examination identified it as commercialor military substance? What kind of explosive material was used? Has the type and make of detonator been found if so which origin?
3. The reports also suggest that the trajectory was directed away from the truck in a cone shape. The explosive experts suggest that the shrapnel-directions of the blast by RDXcan be managed and fashioned according to the need but a suicidalbomber would have no control over the direction of the shrapnel. What the forensic experts associated withthe investigation conclude on this point?
(a) What are the findings of the forensic examination of the vehicles damaged, especially the Suzuki ALTO, as a result of blast and the scene of occurrence? Has the ALTO car received inside or outward impact?
(b) What is the possibility if the suiciders (if it was suicider attack) were sitting already on the same Alto and used the said vehicle to transport himself/themselves and came out when the MBB truck moved nearby.
5. Did the forensic experts find any hidden jumping bomb and detonator/sleeves on the crime scene? If so, what were their make, model and origin?
6. If it were normal explosions, placed in the nearby-parked vehicle, as to why the security personnel did not remove this vehicle from the scene as a part of the security arrangements?
7. Did the DNA test identify the identity of the alleged suicidal bombers?
8.
(a) What forensic examination of the scene and all the vehicles involved has revealed as to the cause and nature of the explosion? A copy of the said report/result would be appreciated.
(b) How many the eye has recorded statements witnesses. A summary of their statements would much be appreciated.
9. What forensic and scientific facilities are available in the country and what is the degree of their reliability? A complete forensic and scientific analysis of the scene is required and we expect this needs to be made public.
10. Is there any independent evidence to conclude that it was a suicidal incident or it is being merely based on the non-existence of any crater on the ground?
11. A friendly country had warned the Government of Pakistan along with the contacts and telephone numbers in Pakistan about the possible terrorist incident. Did the Government of Pakistan make any investigation in the matter on the basis of the information/intelligence lead provided and what is the result of the probe? Similarly, has the said report been made a part of the investigation?
12. We understand that the Crime scene was not preserved properly and obviously the valuable and evidential material must have been lost without have come on record.
13. As you can see these are quite basic questions to firstly establish the reliability of the security arrangements made for the day and secondly to follow the course of investigation as it develops over the days. We are quite confident to conclude that had the security arrangements made appropriately and the identification and arrest of the culprits as per the report of friendly country, such an incident could not have happened. There were, of course, serious lapses in the arrangements as pointed out above.
14.

The following senior leadership of the PPP was present in the truck besides Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto:-
(1) Makhdoom Amin Faheem
(2) Aftab Shaban Mirani
(3) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
(4) Senator Safdar Abbasi
(5) Ms. Naheed Khan
(6) Dr. A. Rehman Malik
(7) Sen. Jehangir Badr
(8) Ambassador Abida Hussain
(9) Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi & son.
(10) Christina Lamb
(11) Victoria Schofreld.
(12) Mrs. Crawford.
(13) Mr. Alexander Khan
(14) Mrs. Hakim Ali Zardari.
(15) Murad Ali Shah
(16) Guards
(17) Razaak
(18) Makhdoom Yousaf Raza Gillani
(19) Ms. Sherry Rahman
(20) Akram Baloach
(21) Khalid Shahanshah
(22) Ms. Fehmida Mirza

15. In addition to above Ms. Christina Lamb, the Journalist from Daily Telegraph was also one of the victims and eyewitness of the incident. No body has approached them so far, for their statement. There are serious objections, which have been raised on the second FIR lodged by PPP, but there is a Ruling of Supreme Court of Pakistan whereby the second FIR can be lodged with a different aspect of the matter. In reality it is the right of the victim to lodge a FIR and not the STATE. In this case PPPhas lodged the FIR with new aspect and being the victim of the said attack.

16. We hope that our observations may be helpful to you in tracing the culprits. In view of our strong observations we still feel that foreign experts on forensic can analyze the incident more scientifically to provide a speedy road map to conclude the investigation to the satisfaction of the people of Pakistan.

APPENDIX D

Updated at: 0230 PST, Wednesday, July 23, 2008

KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed QaimAli Shah has expressed sorrow over the death of PPP leader and security in-charge of Bilawal House Khalid Shahanshah and directed the IG Sindh for investigation of the incident.
Advisor to CM Sindh Rashid Rabbani, special associate Waqar Mehdi, provincial ministers Shazia Maree, Sassi Palejo, Rafiq Engineer, Ayaz Soomroand others expressing sorrow over the death of Khalid Shahanshah termed it a cowardly act.

Announcing a three-day mourning on Shahanshah’s death, the PPP Karachi Division said that Asif Ali Zardari’s birthday celebrations due on July 25 have also been cancelled in this regard.

Namaz-e-janza of the late Khalid Shahanshah will be offered before Bilawal House after the Zohr prayers on Wednesday.

According to sources, this is expected that Asif Ali Zardari will arrive in Karachi this night from Islamabad to attend the namaz-e-janaza.

A Fishy Character – Rehman Malik
First Interview of Rehman Malik, within hours of BB’s Death:

- RM claims that his car was 4 feet away from BB’s car during incident and he also claims that he did not hear gunshots?

- Although being BB’s Chief Security Office (CSO), he did bother to call anyone in BB’s car [Naheed Khan, Amin Faheem, SP Major Imtiaz, Safdar Abbasi & 2 other persons]

- As per his understanding, BB was safe and this is what he told the Geo TV after the explosion.

- He says that they stopped at the Hospital and found that BB’s car was not coming. He took a U turn from there and found that BB’s car had already entered hospital and there was lots of crowd over there.

- He said that he was trying his best to get the custody of dead body As Soon As Possiblefrom the Hospital. Why he wasn’t bothered about further investigation when he has been a Director Generalof FederalInvestigation Agency (FIA)?

THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF THE ASSASSINATION HAVE BEEN COVERED IN VARIOUS OTHER ARTICLES

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