Bhutto

In mid-January, Scotland Yard, who was called in by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to investigate the murder of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, concluded that Ms Bhutto was not shot, but died from head trauma. They also reported that the supposed government cover-up was nothing more than shoddy police work. So, it should come as no big surprise that Bhutto’s supporters are rejecting the Yard’s findings.

(and with good reason!)

According to Scotland Yard’s report:

“The only tenable cause of her rapidly fatal head injury in this case is that it occurred as the result of impact due to the effect of the bomb blast.”

While Scotland Yard contends their “primary focus…was to assist the Pakistani authorities in establishing the cause and circumstances of Ms Bhutto’s death.” They readily admit that,

“The task of establishing exactly what happened was complicated by the lack of an extended and detailed search of the crime scene, the absence of an autopsy, and the absence of recognised [sic] body recovery and victim identification processes.”

Yah think? So, how did they arrive at their conclusion? According to the report
“Considerable reliance [was] placed upon the X-rays taken at Rawalpindi General Hospital following Ms Bhutto’s death.” Accordingly, the examination revealed,

“Ms Bhutto’s only apparent injury was a major trauma to the right side of the head. The UK experts all exclude this injury being an entry or exit wound as a result of gunshot. The only X-ray records, taken after her death, were of Ms Bhutto’s head. However, the possibility of a bullet wound to her mid or lower trunk can reasonably be excluded. This is based upon the protection afforded by the armoured [sic] vehicle in which she was travelling [sic] at the time of the attack, and the accounts of her family and hospital staff who examined her.

However, the Yard’s pathologist admits that he is

“unable categorically to exclude the possibility of there being a gunshot wound to the upper trunk or neck” [but] “the available evidence suggests that there was no gunshot injury.”

So, without actually seeing the body and with only x-rays of Bhutto’s head, Scotland Yard has determined that she was killed by a bump to her head; the result of a bomb blast perpetrated by a suicide bomber.

This simply doesn’t jive with eyewitness accounts and video footage. This information, gathered independently from Pakistan, left few doubts that Ms. Bhutto was shot by one or more assailants. According to a U.S. administration official working in Pakistan, “There is a consensus emerging that she must have been shot.”

It appears this investigation solved nothing; the country is still divided.

As for Scotland Yard’s investigative skill: I suppose if I was asked to determine the cause of a car crash, and all I was given to examine was a flat tire, I’d determine the cause of the crash was a blow-out.

Scotland Yard has completed their investigation of the Bhutto murder and have come to the conclusion that al-Qaeda was responsible for her death. They also concluded there was no government cover-up, simply poor police work.

Still, they can’t say exactly who is responsible for the killing. Scotland Yard disputes the Pakistani government claim that Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal leader from the Afghan border area of southern Waziristan, was the master-planner. It appears Musharraf pointed the finger at Mehsud out of political expediency due to the militant’s link to al-Qaeda.

Scotland Yard has insisted their job wasn’t to determine who killed Bhutto, but just exactly how she died. How can they do that when they can’t examine the body, and the crime scene and Bhutto’s vehicle were sanitized within hours of her death? If “evidence” points toward al-Qaeda, where was this evidence obtained?

(the Pakistani government, of course.)

Bowing to international pressure and attempting to quell domestic unrest, President Musharraf requested assistance with the Bhutto killing from Britain’s Scotland Yard. In a nationally televised address, Musharraf explained,

“We have decided to request a team from Scotland Yard,” … “This team will work on the case and solve all the issues.”

Smart move? If this is a sincere pursuit of the truth, certainly, but I don’t think Musharraf is really interested in the truth. Musharraf said Scotland Yard would “assist” local investigators. I have a feeling this means limited access to information and witnesses for the British Team. Of course, Musharraf doesn’t need Scotland Yard returning home and announcing a lack of cooperation from the Pakistani administration.

It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out.

MORE: Captain’s Quarters

As expected, Pakistan’s President Musharraf is postponing national parliamentary elections for six weeks. Formerly scheduled for January 8th, the election of a new Prime Minister will not take place before February 18. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party and Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (N) have denounced the decision and are calling for elections to take place as previously scheduled. Mr. Sharif, who recently reversed a decision for his party to “boycott” the election, warned of serious repercussions if the elections are delayed and accused Musharraf of “trying to wriggle out of elections sensing defeat of his allies.”

Political analysts also agree that pushing-back the election date could renew the civil unrest that has subsided in recent days. So why the delay? The government’s says the reason for the postponement is due, at least in part, to the destruction of electoral facilities. Per Kanwar Dilshad of the Election Commission:

“Our offices in 10 districts of Sindh have been burned, the electoral rolls have been burned, the polling schemes, the nomination papers have been burned.”

Perhaps this is true, but elections should only be delayed if all parties agree. There are 124 districts in Pakistan and damage to offices in 10 of those districts shouldn’t be a show-stopper. I believe the government has a responsibility to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure elections take place on schedule.

MORE: In a related article, Spree at Wake up America discusses Hillary Clinton and her ignorance of the situation in Pakistan.

The principle professor of surgery at Rawalpindi General Hospital, Dr. Muhammad Mussadiq Khan, said on the night of her death that Bhutto had died of a bullet wound. This, according to hospital board member Athar Minallah, who released the medical report written by Khan and six other doctors together with an open letter supporting the doctors in their call for an autopsy.

Minallah’s open letter was distributed to the Pakistani news media and to The New York Times. In the letter he suggested the doctors felt they were being pressured by the government to back the theory that Ms Bhutto had died by hitting her head on the car’s sunroof lever. The doctors argued that “without an autopsy it is not at all possible to determine as to what had caused the injury.” Still, Aziz Saud, Rawalpini Chief of Police, “did not agree” to the doctor’s autopsy request.

The absence of a gunshot wound was crucial for the government’s vindication, because had there been one, it meant the security they provided Ms Bhutto was grossly inadequate. Bruce Riedel, an expert on Pakistan at the Brookings Institution in Washington, explained, “If there is a gunshot wound the security was abysmal,” and the government didn’t want to be exposed to this level of carelessness.

Makes sense, but I don’t think it’s that simple. Analysts are suggesting the use of a handgun in addition to explosives is a departure for militant groups in Pakistan. Security analyst Nasim Zehra explains, “This is not by any means a signature killing by Al Qaeda” … “A targeted shooting, even in combination with a familiar suicide bombing, makes it look more like a political killing than one by some militant group.”

If it looks like a duck…

In a curious turn-of-events, pro al Qaeda militant leader, Baitullah Mehsud, denied involvement in the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. However, Pakistan is still insisting the terrorist organization is responsible for Bhutto’s murder, citing “irrefutable evidence that al-Qaida [sic], its networks, and cohorts are trying to destabilize Pakistan…” But, the government has yet to actually present this evidence and the citizens aren’t buying it:

The government’s “official” report of the incident has a gunman firing three shots at Bhutto and missing, then blowing himself up. Ms Bhutto died when the force of the blast caused her to hit her head against the lever of the sunroof of her car.

But that doesn’t jive with eyewitness accounts…

According to Shery Rehman, Ms. Bhutto’s close aide and secretary of information for her Pakistan People’s Party, the government’s claim is “ridiculous”:

“What the government is saying is completely ridiculous, in fact it’s dangerous nonsense that she knocked her head against the lever of the sunroof or some such thing, as if that would attack her. But frankly, it’s very clear, it’s running on all the Pakistan TV channels, the footage of an assassin who took clear aim at her with his gun and fired the shot that went through the back of her head and came out the other. I have seen the bullet wound myself, I was part of the bathing ritual party and she bled to death from that wound.”

Now, al Qaeda denies any involvement in the crime (after initially taking credit?). Why? The Pakistan government says al Qaeda killed Ms Bhutto to destabilize the country because Pakistan is “in the forefront of the war against terrorism.” Perhaps al Qaeda did have something to do with it and are taking advantage of the tumultuous situation to blacken the eye of Musharraf’s administration.

Still, Musharraf was, at least, an al Qaeda enabler, giving them a sanctuary in the mountains of Pakistan. Perhaps al Qaeda is unhappy with Musharraf and are attempting to set the stage for a new leader, one whose even more sympathetic to their cause…like the new Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

The WSJ is reporting that “The [Pakistan] government blamed al Qaeda and the Taliban for the assassination of the opposition leader, [Benazir Bhutto]…” She was buried alongside her father.

Yesterday, Musharraf blamed unnamed Islamic militants, but according to Pakistan Interior Minister, Hamid Nawaz, they now possess “evidence that al Qaeda and the Taliban were behind the suicide attack…” Interestingly enough, they’ve resolved the “whole mystery” behind the opposition leader’s killing and plan to provide details at a press conference later today.

(wow. I can’t wait to hear this!)

As violence erupts all over Pakistan, Musharraf insists the January elections will take place as planned. With Bhutto’s party in disarray and rival party leader, Nawaz Sharif, planning to boycott the elections, things certainly seem to be falling into place for President Musharraf (who probably isn’t really interested in any “power-sharing” agreement).

UPDATE 12/28/07: Pakistan’s Interior Ministry spokesman, Javed Iqbal Cheema, cited a communication intercept implicating al Qaeda in the Bhutto murder: “We have intelligence intercepts indicating that al Qaeda leader Baitullah Mehsud is behind her assassination.” Supposedly, according to the communique, Mehsud had congratulated his people for the attack on Ms Bhutto. However, no solid evidence was presented.

It’s no surprise that the government’s “official” explanation was quickly dismissed by Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) who believe President Musharraf’s embattled administration was only trying to cover up its failure to protect her. A spokesman for the PPP said, “The government is nervous,” and “They are trying to cover up their failure” to provide adequate security.

(I agree)

Cheema also claimed that Bhutto had not been shot, as doctors and eyewitnesses had previously reported, but had died from a skull fracture: “No bullets…were found in her body.”

Of course, Bhutto aides balked at the notion.

(cover-up!)

UPDATE 1/1/08: Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz apologized for the report that the sunroof lever killed Bhutto and said it was a “mistake”. Conducting damage control, Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan, asked the media and people to “forgive and ignore” comments previously made by his ministry’s spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema.

(Indeed!)

Former Pakistan Prime Minister and opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated today in what appears to be a suicide attack in the town of Rawalpindi, just outside Islamabad. She was killed along with at least 20 others after addressing a campaign rally in the small military garrison town. Her party security adviser said she had been shot before climbing into her vehicle, and then the bomber blew up.

The primary suspects in the assassination are “Islamic militants,” whom Bhutto openly criticized during her election campaign, pledging to “root” them out.

Of course the Islamists are the likely suspects, but there are others who stand to benefit from a Bhutto assassination: President Musharraf and supporters from within the military intelligence service, for one. After all, Rawalpindi, where Bhutto was killed, is the power base of the Pakistani army. Curious that Ms Bhutto was assassinated in the same town that her father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was hanged in 1979 after being deposed by a military coup.

And considering many previous assassinations of Pakistani politicians remain unsolved, it’s a distinct possibility (and I believe highly probable) Bhutto’s killers will never be identified.

Many are concerned Bhutto’s assassination will delay the January 8th elections. I think it will and expect President Musharraf to once again impose a state of emergency. I believe it’s inevitable–he wants this state of emergency and the authority he derives from it. Bhutto’s killing provides a convenient excuse…

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