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| Murder probe |
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Monday, June 09, 2008
A letter from Pakistan’s Foreign Minister seeking a probe into Benazir Bhutto’s murder has finally been handed over to the UN secretary general. It is anticipated that, as the notoriously slow wheels of the UN bureaucracy grind into motion, the matter will be placed before the Security Council, which, in all likelihood several months from now, will set up a committee to inquire into the murder. The reports that suggest this committee may in its composition be quite different from the snail-paced UN commission set up to investigate the February 2005 assassination of the former prime minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, is encouraging. Certainly, despite spending millions of dollars, that commission has got, essentially, nowhere. Indeed, critics say it has compounded existing problems by implicating Syria in the killing without producing evidence to back this stance. In this respect, the indication that any committee set up in the case of Benazir Bhutto will comprise forensic, legal and investigative experts, and as such be different in structure to the Hariri Commission, is encouraging.
While the UN seems to have learnt from past mistakes, there is still much doubt over what it can achieve. Indeed, it is unclear what precisely the Pakistani government seeks from the UN intervention. Over the past two months, since the PPP-led government has been in command, with police and other key agencies under its control, it is uncertain if it has made any effort to uncover the truth or push ahead with the investigation into Benazir’s murder. Certainly, there has been no public indication that an effort by the PPP to find the killers of their leader is even on. The status of the investigation is unknown. The statement by the adviser on interior that UN assistance was required as Al Qaeda was an international organization is an effort to explain why help from the body has been sought, but does not suggest that any new findings into the murder have come up over the past few months. Immediately after the Liaquat Bagh bombing last year, the PPP had questioned official claims that extremists were behind it.
The risk remains that the murder of Benazir may forever remain a matter of doubt and conjecture. The UN’s ability to unravel the mystery is questionable given the lack of new evidence, issues such as the failure to conduct an autopsy and so on. While we must hope it meets with success, the chances of this, realistically speaking, are rather bleak.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
