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| PPP asking many questions about Rehman Malik |
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Wednesday, January 02, 2008
By Rauf Klasra
NAUDERO: The absence of Rehman Malik, chief security officer (CSO) of Benazir Bhutto, from the scene of the deadly attack in Rawalpindi raised a lot of questions in the ranks of the PPP, but Farhatullah Babar who was with him at that moment, strongly defended him.
It was on record that the CSO of the late leader had no clue when did Benazir, whom he was supposed to protect even at the cost of his life, came under attack and where she was taken when she was hit.
Sources said Rehman remained confined to the Bilawal House in Islamabad to the surprise and shock of the party leaders. Some party leaders in Naudero, who were present at the site of the attack and in the hospital, said they did not have any idea where Rehman was after Ms Bhutto was killed on the spot by a trained killer.
Rehman had even told the Geo News that Ms Bhutto escaped unhurt in the attack, which greatly relieved the whole of Pakistan. Even Interior Ministry Spokesman Brig (retd) Javed Cheema told media men that after the reports of the attack on Ms Bhutto, he had contacted Rehman Malik who informed him that she escaped unhurt and he issued the same statement on the basis of the assurance given to him by the chief security adviser to Ms Bhutto.
But shortly after the live beeper of Rehman on the Geo, the horrible reports started emerging from all corners that Ms Bhutto was in a critical condition at the Rawalpindi General Hospital and she might not survive.
This dramatic situation, which developed after the statement of Rehman Malik that Ms Bhutto was in good health, created a big confusion not only in the minds of the party workers but all those who were listening to his comments on the Geo TV, live.
Sources said later they learned that Rehman had gone to the Bilawal House where he remained and reached the hospital after Asif Ali Zardari was said to have reached there from Dubai. The party workers were wondering how could the chief security officer be missing from the scene of the attack, when he was exclusively supposed to be with Ms Bhutto all the time in his special capacity.
Rehman Malik was also travelling in a different vehicle as Ms Bhutto was in her bullet- and bomb-proof car with Naheed Khan and Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who later took a dying Ms Bhutto to the hospital.
One of the explanations given to this correspondent about the travelling of Rehman in a separate car was that he was instructed by Ms Bhutto herself to use a separate car as like her, he too was on the hit list of terrorists. She did not want him to die with her in case of an attack on her car.
However, talking to The News, the PPP spokesman unfolded a different story, which on the one side defended Rehman Malik, but on the other side also left some key questions unanswered.
Babar said he was also in the car in which Rehman was travelling after Ms Bhutto ended her speech in Rawalpindi and they all headed towards the Bilawal House. He said they had no idea whether Benazir was hurt in the attack, so they all went to the Bilawal House.
But, Babar defending Rehman Malik, said when the jubilant crowd stopped the car of Benazir Bhutto, Rehman was quite upset as he said this was not the right approach and Ms Bhutto should simply go home as there could be some trouble.
Likewise, he said, we both were talking on the telephones and at one point we both realised that if our telephones were operating inside the car, it meant that the jammers were not working properly. That created a panic and Rehman immediately picked up his cell phone and started contacting the IGP and the Home Department to know why the jammers were not working properly when Ms Bhutto was travelling towards Islamabad.
Babar said, however, he could not hear the conversation between Rehman and the government officials concerned as in the meantime, he got busy on his own cell phone.
However, Babar said they both reached the Bilawal House without having any idea about the injuries to Benazir, as they were under the strong impression that she was coming behind their car in a separate car.
But, Babar revealed, when he reached the Bilawal House and found Benazir missing, he got alarmed and his first spontaneous reaction was to rush back to Rawalpindi to know where Ms Bhutto was.
To his horror, Babar was told that she was in a critical condition at the General Hospital in Rawalpindi. Babar said he did not know at that time where Rehman Malik and other party leaders were, as he rushed inside the hospital where he found Ms Bhutto in a room.
He said, Major Imtiaz and Naheed Khan were present there but he did not know about the rest that who was there and who was not. But Babar remained silent on why Rehman Malik did not accompany him when he rushed to Rawalpindi after coming to know that Benazir was missing.
When asked who informed Asif Ali Zardari about the tragic death of Ms Bhutto, Farhatullah Babar said according to his information, that difficult job was done by Dr Safdar Abbasi.
But, one party source said Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who had taken Ms Bhutto to the hospital, had performed the most difficult task of his life to tell Asif Ali Zardari and his children that that they had lost Benazir Bhutto forever. This correspondent made several efforts to get the point of view of Rehman Malik but he did not attend the phone.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
