ISI
accused of manipulating Osama
probe By Malik Ayub Sumbal
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's top spy agency,
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has been
accused of harassing witnesses appearing at the
country's investigation into the United States
military raid that last year killed al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden.
Witnesses at the
Abbottabad Commission have come forward to say
that the ISI would has been picking them up while
traveling to
and leaving the probe, often
"briefing" them on what to say and grilling them
afterwards on the proceedings.
Abbottabad
Commission Head Justice Javed Iqbal has expressed
anger at the alleged interference, describing it
as meddling and establishing a committee of
military officials to investigate the apparent
harassment.
The matter first came to light
when a witness from the neighborhood of Bin
Laden's complex in Abbottabad was late for giving
testimony. When the court demanded an explanation,
he said that on his way to Islamabad, some ISI
personnel stopped him and told him what to tell
the commission.
Several other witnesses
have now also alleged they were harassed by the
ISI, both before and after recording their
statements. The witnesses say while they wished to
remain impartial in their statements, they also
feared ISI reprisals.
Established on May
30, 2011 - just 28 days after the US raid - the
Abbottabad Commission has quizzed hundreds of
people on the events leading up to the operation,
including civil and military officials. It is now
compiling its final report
However, the
leader of the opposition in the National Assembly,
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, had voiced serious
misgivings about the commission's mandate, saying
it was just formed to please the government and
will produce no important findings.
In
Pakistan's recent history, there have been
numerous such commissions formed to investigate
different incidents, but they rarely produce
conclusive results.
A commission was
formed to investigate the murder in March 2011 of
Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief Syed
Saleem Shahzad, but it has so far produced no
results, with no findings being made public.
A similar inquiry was formed in August
2011 to probe allegations that law enforcement
authorities were involved in enforced
disappearances in Balochistan. While the Supreme
Court decreed in July that the disappearances
should immediately stop and action taken against
the culprits, there has been no evidence of this
being implemented.
Critics say the
Abbottabad Commission is equally unlikely to make
major progress on the Bin Laden case.
A
broader question raised by the ISI's alleged
grilling of witnesses, is why the intelligence
agency was seemingly so concerned with influencing
its outcome.
There have been numerous
reports since 9/11 claiming that the ISI helped
hide Bin Laden, who was for over a decade the
world's most wanted man. This was why the US
special forces raid was launched without
consulting Islamabad.
The complex where
Bin Laden was found was located in close proximity
to the Pakistan Military Academy, suggesting he
was benefiting from close contacts with members of
the army intelligence.
The ISI's
international image has plummeted in recent months
over the Bin Laden affair and its alleged links
with the Afghan Taliban. By "briefing" witnesses
in the Abbottabad Commission, the ISI likely
sought to avoid the investigation implicating it
in way - however an unlikely outcome that may be.
Malik Ayub Sumbal is an
investigative journalist based in Islamabad,
Pakistan. He has worked for more than nine years
for a number of national and international
newspapers, magazines, journals, wire services and
television channels. He can be contacted at
ayubsumbal@gmail.com
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