Thaindian News

Islamabad, Oct 12 (IANS) A Pakistani commission, investigating the US sneak raid to kill Osama bin Laden in the northwestern city of Abbottabad near Islamabad on May 2, Wednesday questioned the country’s military intelligence chief who gave his perspective of the US operation, the commission said.

The commission is also investigating the presence of the Al Qaeda chief in Pakistan for years and the inability of the security agencies to get any information about his presence, Xinhua reported.

The commission twice conducted an exhaustive interview of the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, to know his perspective leading to the Abbottabad incident.

The commission, headed by a former Supreme Court judge, also carried out detailed examination/inspection of recovered items and material evidence from the alleged Osama compound, according to a statement.

The commission conducted exhaustive interviews of Director General Military Intelligence in the General Headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and of the inspector general of police of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province, it said.

The commission has already taken statements and investigated the wives and daughters of Osama bin Laden and they are no more required to the commission.

The commission had earlier restrained the Pakistani authorities from handing over the Osama family members to any country. Reports said that Pakistan has contacted countries of origin of Osama’s widows to hand them over.

The panel has suggested registration of treason charges against a doctor who helped a fake CIA vaccination programme in an attempt to obtain DNA samples from the Al Qaeda leader’s family.

Shakil Afridi was arrested by the Pakistani security agency days after the US military helicopters killed Osama bin Laden, the most wanted man, in a compound where he was believed to have lived for years.

The US had reportedly pressurised Pakistan to release Afridi but the authorities have rejected the US demand.