Q&A: the murder of Benazir Bhutto

How did Benazir Bhutto die?
The Government initially said that Ms Bhutto died from a massive head injury sustained when the force of the bomb blast threw the lever of the sunroof against her head as she was trying to duck back into her vehicle.
However, this theory has been debunked since photographs and amateur video footage clearly showed Ms Bhutto disappearing into her vehicle after the shots and before the blast. Family members and aides who washed her body have also said that they clearly saw a bullet wound on her head. Witnesses of the attack also say they saw Ms Bhutto being shot. Doctors who treated Ms Bhutto in her final hours say authorities have ordered them to remain silent and to destroy records of her treatment. Officials from her Pakistan People's Party accuse the government of trying to cover up evidence pointing either to its involvement in the assassination or to the failure of its security arrangements.

Was the Pakistani Government involved?
It denies playing any role in Ms Bhutto's assassination. But many of her family members and PPP officials say they believe that conservative elements of the security services, especially the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, were involved in some way. They point to senior ISI officers who they believe embraced radical Islam while coordinating US support for the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviet army in Afghanistan. Those same officers maintain close links to Islamist militants and regarded Ms Bhutto as too secular and close to the West. Among those often named are Hamid Gul, a retired general who served as head of the ISI in Ms Bhutto’s first term as Prime Minister. He has dismissed the allegations as "bunkum."

Whom did Ms Bhutto herself suspect?
Before she returned from eight years of self-exile two months ago, Bhutto wrote to Musharraf naming several individuals who should be investigated if anything happened to her. PPP officials say they included Mr Gul (the former ISI chief), Ijaz Shah (the head of the civilian Intelligence Bureau), Pervez Elahi (the former Punjab Chief Minister), Arbab Ghulam Rahimand ( the former Sindh chief minister) and Hassan Afzal, former Deputy Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). In October, Ms Bhutto also revealed that her lawyer had received a letter, signed by a "friend of al-Qaeda" which threatened to slaughter her like a goat. However, she said she had more fear from unidentified members of a power structure that she described as allies of the “forces of militancy”.

Q&A: the murder of Benazir Bhutto

What happened during the attack?

The Government says that it was carried out by a gunman working in conjunction with a suicide bomber, whose head was found at the site. Photographs taken by a member of the crowd clearly show a clean-shaven young man in dark glasses, a white shirt and a dark waist coat, shooting a pistol at Ms Bhutto from next to her vehicle. One picture shows another man with a white shawl over his head standing behind the gunman and a Pakistani television station has identified the second man as the bomber. Amateur video footage shows the gunman firing at least three shots and an explosion engulfing the vehicle seconds later.

However, there is still no clear evidence to show if the shooter was also the bomber, if there was a second person who detonated himself, or if the explosion was triggered by remote control. The government has shown images of what it says is the bomber's reconcstructed head, but it is still not clear if the gunman's body has been found. Much evidence was destroyed when authorities washed the blast site with high pressure hoses on the same night that Ms Bhutto died.

DCO Larkana transferred!

The Sindh government has transferred the District Police Officer (DCO), Larkana, Aziz Uqaly; and posted the Additional Secretary, Local Government, Jafar Abbasi; as DCO for the home town of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. The transfer was ordered on the directive of President Asif Ali Zardari who directed the Sindh government to remove the DCO as he received many complaints against him. The officials claimed that Uqaly was posted on the demand of Faryal Talpur MNA, Naudero, Larkana. However, the party leaders and legislators from Larkana complained to the president about the delaying in development work in Benazir Bhutto district and blamed the DCO for the delay.

President directs MPs to focus on Larkana uplift

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

ISLAMABAD: PPP parliamentarians belonging to Larkana district have complained to President Asif Ali Zardari against the attitude of the federal as well as provincial ministers towards the people of Larkana, the hometown of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.A group of parliamentarians, provincial ministers and notables from the Larkana division informed the president of their complaints in a meeting with him here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

They discussed with the president the problems being faced by the people of the area.The president assured the delegation that the government would look into their problems and try to address these issues. According to sources, the president directed the federal and provincial ministers to hold open Katcheries in Larkana at the mausoleum of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto fortnightly and resolve the issues on priority basis.

The sources said the president also directed Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah not to neglect the people of Larkana in the future and keep in touch with MNAs and MPAs of the hometown of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmad Khoro and MNA Faryal Talpur were also present in the meeting

Protesters warn of burning degrees!!!

LARKANA, Nov 16: Candidates who have passed the Sindh Public Service Commission’s test for lecturer’s job threatened on Sunday that they would burn their degrees and stage a sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s House if appointment letters were not issued to them.Imdad Tunio and Ms Kausar Samo, two of the candidates who observed a token hunger strike and held a demonstration outside the press club, told journalists that 650 lecturers had passed the commission’s test and given offer letters in May 2008.

The government had promised to give them joining orders but later deviated from its commitment, forcing the job-seekers to go to the court, which ordered the government on Oct 21 to issue appointment orders within four months but it did not happen, they complained.They said that they had learnt that a summery on their appointment had again been sent to the chief minister and hoped he would sign it this time.They said they would be forced to sell their kidneys if the government did not issue appointment orders.

Charge-sheet submitted against taluka nazim

LARKANA, Nov 17: The Anti-corruption Establishment (ACE) Larkana on Monday submitted a charge-sheet against the suspended taluka nazim of Larkana Qurban Ali Abbasi and five other officers of Taluka Municipal Administration in the special court of anti-corruption Larkana. About four month ago the circle officer ACE Larkana Niaz Hussain Khajjar had registered an FIR against Qurban Abbasi and five officers for allegedly auctioning 87 residential and commercial plots at old bus stand and Sachal Colony of Larkana.

The circle officer said that the suspended taluka nazim had allotted plots without seeking permission from the council and dished them out to his ‘favourites’ during the ban period.Others nominated in the FIR included Abdul Karim Shaikh, Taluka Municipal Officer, Manzoor Ali Dhamraho, Land Grant Officer, Atta Muhammed Channa, Taluka Officer Finance, Yusif Maseeh, Taluka Officer Regulation and Liaquat Mirani, Taluka officer infrastructures, the circle officer added.Presently all the officers and the taluka nazim Larkana Qurban Abbasi were on bail. Sindh government had already suspended the Taluka Nazim and the naib nazim.Yasir Junejo backed by Awam Dost Panel had taken over the charge of taluka nazim.

It was learnt that ADP had managed the ousters the taluka nazim Larkana through PPP government when they had failed to unseat him through vote of confidence.They had tried time and again but could not succeed, therefore, they had done it with the tool of Sindh Local Government Ordinance through Sindh Local Government Commission, the sources said.

Delay in opening rice purchase centres to deepen crisis

LARKANA, Nov 15: Leaders of growers’ organisations and rice millers foresee further deepening of crisis if the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Supplies Corporation (Passco) delays opening procurement centres to buy rice produce from growers in Sindh and Balochistan.Ishaque Mughairi, president of Qambar-Shahdadkot chapter of the Sindh Abadgar Board, said on Saturday that the growers were compelled to sell Irri-6 rice at the rate of Rs500 to 600 per 40 kilograms in the absence of government’s procurement centres.

In Shahdadkot, which had 75 rice mills, the Basmati variety of rice was being sold at Rs700 to 800 per 40 kg, with small khatedars and growers bearing the brunt of what he called tremendous ‘cuts’ on sale of their rice produce.

The traders deduct 30 maunds from 1000 maunds of rice under different pretexts, he said.He termed government’s announcement of establishing Passco’s procurement centres an eyewash and said that no procurement centre had been set up so far in Sindh and Balochistan.He said that thing would never improve without a comprehensive procurement policy and alleged that exporters, millers and government had joined hands to squeeze out the growers.Reports from Qambar indicated that no procurement centre had been opened there and growers’ demand for enhancement in rice procurement price from Rs700 per 40 kg had fallen on deaf ears.The influential traders who had obtained wheat from government godowns at the rate of Rs675 per 40 kg were openly selling it to growers in the absence of certified seed at the rate of Rs2,000 to 2,200 per 50 kg bag, he said.

Gada Hussain Mahesar, senior vice-president of Larkana chapter of Sindh Abadgar Board, regretted the cold-shouldered attitude of the agriculture department and said that he had written to federal and provincial governments, cautioning that delay in procurement would harm wheat crop and so the economy.Mr Mahesar called for effective and timely arrangements for procuring rice and said that Sindh and Balochistan produced 2.6 million tons of rice (3.9 million tons of paddy) per year.He termed Passco’s claim about purchasing rice impracticable and said that it lacked experience and sufficient technical staff to cover all the 900 mills in both the provinces.

He disclosed that Sindh and Balochistan earned $700 million from exporting rice annually and called for convening a meeting of the representatives of growers, millers and concerned government officials to pull growers out of present crisis.Siraj Rashdi, president of the Larkana chapter of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, regretted non-existence of procurement centres in both the provinces and said the support price for rice at Rs700 per 40 kg was quite reasonable.He said that poor peasants were compelled to sell out their share in the yield at lower rates because they could not afford to withstand the pressure of repaying loans and meeting other requirements.

LARKANA: Arts Council project hits snags

LARKANA, Nov 16: Construction work at the Arts Council Complex in the city is yet to begin although the district government has allowed to select a site.Subsequently, the plot was earmarked for the Arts Council Complex had been proposed for judges’ lodges, sources said.The project, a dream of the Sindh culture and tourism department, was approved by the Pakistan Development Party at a meeting in Islamabad on December 23, 2005 with an estimated cost of Rs79.743 million, sources privy to the project told ApnaLarkana.com team.

Funds were duly allocated for it, they added. The department, through a letter on January 18, 2006, asked the Larkana executive district officer (revenue) to allocate a plot for the purpose but received a ‘no’ reply.Former district coordination officer of Larkana Haji Khuda Bux Larik on January 29, 2005 asked the EDO to select a suitable site for the complex but without any success.The then deputy district officer, general administration, Khalid Haidar Shah on March 24 2005 sought the help of Larkana Taluka Nazim Qurban Abbasi for site selection who identified a plot near the Police Training School on Larkana-Waggan Road, said the sources.The deputy director of planning through a letter to the DCO on April 4 called for early utilisation of funds.The then EDO (Revenue) Ghulam Mustafa Phull on April 19 2005 identified a plot measuring 14,641 square yards opposite the Chandka Medical College and asked the concerned department, after getting no objection, to begin the work, which it never did.

The then DCO Ahmed Bakhsh Khokhar, to expedite the process, wrote on April 21, 2005 to the deputy director of planning and development to utilise the plot. The deputy director in his reply called for early implementation of the project but the correspondence again remained ineffective, said divisional president of the People’s Culture Wing, Abdul Sattar Khuhawar.Former culture secretary Abdul Qadir Mangi in a letter on March 14, 2007, to the then DCO Larkana Naseer Jamali deplored delay in work on the project with the warning that the funds would be surrendered if work did not start immediately.

He sought allotment of two acres initially for early execution of the project but it was not done.Recently, the office-bearers of People’s Culture Wing met Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah who sought a report from the culture department, Mr Khuhawar said.Further action is awaited.

Obama’s Larkana Connection

United State’s Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a connection with Larkana, city of Bhuttos of Pakistan. In 1981 Obama as a student visited Larkana for a partridge hunting session. His host was one Hasan Chandio. City of Larkana was renamed. Its original name before the raj was Chandka. Chandios are still considered be the biggest landlords of Sindh.
During his visit to Pakistan he stayed in Hasan Chandio’s residence and later he traveled to interior Sindh for partridge hunting. In Sindh partridge hunting is considered as a symbol of good hospitality.

Hasan Chandio is Obama’s Pakistani friend who lives in Westchester County of New York. Obama also made friends with another Sindhi currently Chairman of Senate Muhammadmian Soomro who hails from Shikarpur hardly one hour’s drive from Larkana. He lived at Muhammad Ali Society residence of Ahmad Mian Soomro father of Chairman Senate Muhammadmian Soomro.

SPSC office in Larkana

LARKANA, Nov 22: The camp office of Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) would start functioning in Larkana in the first week of December.It would be established in the district government’s secretariat and the Sindh government had already given a go ahead for setting up such a camp office in Larkana, sources in the SPSC told Dawn.It was learnt that former principal of Chandka Medical College, Professor Akbar Haidar Soomro, and a member of SPSC had visited Larkana and held meetings with the concerned officers and the proposed offices.The SPSC had its head office in Hyderabad and presently two camp offices in Karachi and Sukkur were working and there was a dire need of establishing camp office in Larkana to facilitate the educated youth to easily appear in different examinations.Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah would inaugurate the camp office, sources said.—Correspondent