Top Al-Qaeda leader engineered BB murder plan: Rehman Malik tells Sindh Assembly

Karachi : In the wake of resolution passed by the Sindh Assembly demanding the federal government to public the Benazir murder investigation report, Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday made it to the house along with Joint Investigation Team of Federal Investigation Agency and gave 3-hour long briefing consisting of facts garnered by the FIA team so far.

Soon after reading out the prorogation order, Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro invited the Interior Minister to the house along with his team in special meeting with house members to apprise them of current status of the murder investigation of late Benazir.

As per the probe findings of United Nations and Scotland Yard investigation team shared by head of counter terrorism wing, FIA, Khalid Qureshi two points were identical in both reports one was the Al Qaeda, Taliban and local militant groups were threatened by the return of late Benazir Bhutto and second she was not provided adequate security at her public meeting in Rawalpindi on December 27,2007 by the then government.

According to report, the murder plot was engineered by a top Al-Qaeda leader Abu-ubaid Almisri that was executed by Baitullah Mehsud through Haqaani Network. The plot was planned at Madrassa Haqaania, Akora Khattak in Nowshera at room no.96 of seminary student Anwar Shah. Mullah Umar and Jalauddin Haqqani were also the students of same seminary.

Rehman Malik told that then President General Pervaiz Musharraf had warned Benazir not to return Pakistan before general elections of 2008, but she refused to comply his dictation. In reaction, he said, Musharraf denied providing necessary security to BB and categorically asked her that he wouldn t be responsible for any security measures.

Malik said soon a red notice will be issued to Ex-President Musharraf via Interpol to seek his extradition. He said doctors at the hospitals where late Benazir s body was taken sought permission for conducting her post-mortem to concerned police officials, however they clearly refused.

He said nobody was spared in the investigation. He said he had also protested with other countries including Afghanistan who had expressed security concerns on her return to country and later refused to become part of the investigation.

Mr. Qureshi of JIT FIA, while briefing the house, told on December 14, 2007, some 27 militant groups from seven tribal agencies formed an umbrella organization named Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and enhanced executing their terrorist activities across the country.

He said Qari Hussain was the mastermind in training children for suicide bombings while in Fata families were forced to hand over at least one boy of their family to his group for carrying out suicide attacks.

He said one of the accused, Hussain Gul, among assassinators of Benazir Bhutto had personal motive to kill BB as she had reportedly endorsed the Lal Masjid Operation and supported the aggression launched on terrorists. Gul had very close links with Qari Fayyaz, who was killed in the Lal Masjid Operation .

Citing the report findings, Qureshi said injury inflicted on the head caused her (Benazir) death. He said crime scene was deliberately washed by the police in just an hour after the incident.

Besides, no stand-by doctors were available at the hospital where BB was taken. It reflected that the then government had not adopted any comprehensive security plan,

Report also mentioned that a total of 3382 suicide attacks were carried out from 2004 to 2011 with 705 in 2009, followed by 668 in 2010, 614 in 2007, 587 in 2008 and 452 in 2011.

Minister for Archives Rafiq Engineer asked the reasons behind murders of DSP Ranjha and BB s security officer Khalid Ranjha, while MPA Marvi Rashdi asked Malik to explain his role when he was accompanying BB.

Malik said his duty was to communicate with government officials for security concerns and inform them about it.