KARACHI:
By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque
KARACHI, Dec 11: The inquiry tribunal investigating the Oct 18 Karsaz bomb blasts questioned a police officer on Tuesday and asked why he left the site after the incident instead of carrying out security duties aimed at protecting former prime minister Benazir Bhutto upon her return to the country.
“Your primary duty was to guard the float [carrying Ms Bhutto],” observed Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus Mohammed. “It was a high-profile case; why did you leave the place despite the presence of your superior police officers?” he asked SP Javed Ahmed Baloch, who was the nominated float commander and whose vehicle was travelling just a hundred yards in front of the float carrying the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson when the twin bomb blasts occurred on Oct 18, killing over 140 people and injuring scores more.
Tuesday’s proceedings concerned the deposition of SP Baloch, who informed the tribunal about his movements at the time of the tragedy. He testified that he had been the float commander and as part of the security plan, had been accompanying the PPP caravan in a Land Cruiser equipped with jamming devices and manned by a driver and two operators of the jamming devices. He said that at about midnight, as the caravan passed under the Karsaz bridge, he heard a blast and his vehicle’s windscreens shattered.
According to SP Baloch’s deposition, he exited his vehicle and another blast was heard within minutes, injuring one of the police officers with him. “I took the injured and the bodies to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in a police mobile. After dropping them at the emergency ward, I rushed back to the scene of the incident where more police mobiles, ambulances, Rangers’ vehicles and police officers had already gathered,” he informed the tribunal. “I thereafter left the place to go home because I had performed my duties.”
The tribunal asked why he had left the scene of the crime, upon which SP Baloch said that he had not been feeling well because of the blasts and had therefore sought permission to leave from his superior officers.
Ms Bhutto’s location not noted
Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus Mohammed asked SP Baloch where Ms Bhutto had been when he got out of his Land Cruiser after the first blast. The police officer conceded that he had not noted the PPP leader’s whereabouts.
“Your primary duty was to guard her. Why did you not locate Ms Bhutto when you came out of your vehicle?” inquired the tribunal.
In an attempt to clarify his position, SP Baloch said that he had not noted Ms Bhutto’s location after the blasts since it had been SP Pir Farid Jan Sarhandi’s duty to ensure the PPP chairperson’s safe exit in case of an emergency. Asked where Ms Bhutto had been at the time of the blasts, SP Baloch said that he was unsure whether she had been atop the float or inside it.
At this point in the proceedings, additional advocate-general Arshad Lodhi tried to intervene but the head of the tribunal made it clear that he had to investigate any possible negligence. “It’s true that people were injured but the primary duty was that of [providing] security,” observed Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus.
The tribunal then asked what measures SP Baloch had taken to contact his superiors after the blast. He replied that the wireless in his vehicle had not been working because of the jamming devices. After the incident, he had tried to contact the SSP Security, Dr Amin Yousufzai on his cell-phone but had found the line busy. SP Baloch said that as he was returning from JPMC, he succeeded in contacting SSP Yousufzai who said that he was about to reach the spot. “I met him at the scene of the incident and sought permission to go home because I was not feeling well,” SP Baloch told the tribunal. “At my residence, my younger brother gave me some medicines. I resumed duty the next day in the afternoon and went to the New Karachi area, where I was posted as SP New Karachi.”
No internal inquiry held
Asked whether he had attended any meeting in this context after the incident, SP Baloch informed the tribunal that he had been present at one meeting convened by the SSP Security, Dr Amin Yousufzai, a week after the blasts. He said that the SSP Security had wanted to glean information from him [SP Baloch] and other police officers in terms of how the incident had taken place and what preventative measures could be adopted in the future. However, maintained the police officer, no definite conclusion had been reached regarding the cause of the incident.
Similarly, SP Baloch replied in the negative when the tribunal asked whether any internal inquiry had taken place after the incident, or whether his statement had been recorded. “Except one meeting, no other inquiry was held, at least to my knowledge,” he deposed. “No statement was recorded.”
The tribunal asked whether the jamming devices that had been fitted in the Land Cruiser were functional before and at the time of the bomb blasts. SP Baloch said that the devices in his vehicle had been functional before the blasts but he did not know whether they were in order at the time the bombs went off. He added that the jamming devices had been checked at Terminal 1 [from where the PPP procession started on its route] and found to be in order by Major (retd) Imtiaz, the PPP security nominee.
Responding to another query, SP Baloch said that a bomb disposal squad had checked the float before the arrival of Ms Bhutto.
He also informed the tribunal that no policeman or intelligence agency personnel had been posted inside the float that was carrying Ms Bhutto. SP Baloch said that two days before Ms Bhutto’s arrival in Karachi, he had attended a security meeting chaired by the capital city police officer (CCPO) Azhar Ali Farooqui at the Salim Wahidi Auditorium. SP Baloch said that no one had suggested at the meeting that a police officer be deployed inside the PPP float.
He added that Ms Bhutto’s float had been under the guard of PPP workers who called themselves Jan Nisaran-i-Benazir, that police mobiles had been covering the vehicle from all four sides while another vehicle fitted with jamming devices was following the caravan in the rear.
After SP Baloch’s statements were recorded, the tribunal adjourned further proceedings until Dec 15.
The tribunal also issued notices to the additional secretary of the Home Department, Naveed Ahmed Sheikh, DIG Traffic Wajid Ali Durrani and DIG Headquarters Waseem Ahmed. They were asked to appear before the inquiry tribunal on Dec 15 and record statements regarding the minutes of the meeting between the administration and the organisers of the Oct 18 rally, when matters such as security issues and the traffic plan were discussed.
By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque
KARACHI, Dec 11: The inquiry tribunal investigating the Oct 18 Karsaz bomb blasts questioned a police officer on Tuesday and asked why he left the site after the incident instead of carrying out security duties aimed at protecting former prime minister Benazir Bhutto upon her return to the country.
“Your primary duty was to guard the float [carrying Ms Bhutto],” observed Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus Mohammed. “It was a high-profile case; why did you leave the place despite the presence of your superior police officers?” he asked SP Javed Ahmed Baloch, who was the nominated float commander and whose vehicle was travelling just a hundred yards in front of the float carrying the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson when the twin bomb blasts occurred on Oct 18, killing over 140 people and injuring scores more.
Tuesday’s proceedings concerned the deposition of SP Baloch, who informed the tribunal about his movements at the time of the tragedy. He testified that he had been the float commander and as part of the security plan, had been accompanying the PPP caravan in a Land Cruiser equipped with jamming devices and manned by a driver and two operators of the jamming devices. He said that at about midnight, as the caravan passed under the Karsaz bridge, he heard a blast and his vehicle’s windscreens shattered.
According to SP Baloch’s deposition, he exited his vehicle and another blast was heard within minutes, injuring one of the police officers with him. “I took the injured and the bodies to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in a police mobile. After dropping them at the emergency ward, I rushed back to the scene of the incident where more police mobiles, ambulances, Rangers’ vehicles and police officers had already gathered,” he informed the tribunal. “I thereafter left the place to go home because I had performed my duties.”
The tribunal asked why he had left the scene of the crime, upon which SP Baloch said that he had not been feeling well because of the blasts and had therefore sought permission to leave from his superior officers.
Ms Bhutto’s location not noted
Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus Mohammed asked SP Baloch where Ms Bhutto had been when he got out of his Land Cruiser after the first blast. The police officer conceded that he had not noted the PPP leader’s whereabouts.
“Your primary duty was to guard her. Why did you not locate Ms Bhutto when you came out of your vehicle?” inquired the tribunal.
In an attempt to clarify his position, SP Baloch said that he had not noted Ms Bhutto’s location after the blasts since it had been SP Pir Farid Jan Sarhandi’s duty to ensure the PPP chairperson’s safe exit in case of an emergency. Asked where Ms Bhutto had been at the time of the blasts, SP Baloch said that he was unsure whether she had been atop the float or inside it.
At this point in the proceedings, additional advocate-general Arshad Lodhi tried to intervene but the head of the tribunal made it clear that he had to investigate any possible negligence. “It’s true that people were injured but the primary duty was that of [providing] security,” observed Justice (retd) Dr Ghaus.
The tribunal then asked what measures SP Baloch had taken to contact his superiors after the blast. He replied that the wireless in his vehicle had not been working because of the jamming devices. After the incident, he had tried to contact the SSP Security, Dr Amin Yousufzai on his cell-phone but had found the line busy. SP Baloch said that as he was returning from JPMC, he succeeded in contacting SSP Yousufzai who said that he was about to reach the spot. “I met him at the scene of the incident and sought permission to go home because I was not feeling well,” SP Baloch told the tribunal. “At my residence, my younger brother gave me some medicines. I resumed duty the next day in the afternoon and went to the New Karachi area, where I was posted as SP New Karachi.”
No internal inquiry held
Asked whether he had attended any meeting in this context after the incident, SP Baloch informed the tribunal that he had been present at one meeting convened by the SSP Security, Dr Amin Yousufzai, a week after the blasts. He said that the SSP Security had wanted to glean information from him [SP Baloch] and other police officers in terms of how the incident had taken place and what preventative measures could be adopted in the future. However, maintained the police officer, no definite conclusion had been reached regarding the cause of the incident.
Similarly, SP Baloch replied in the negative when the tribunal asked whether any internal inquiry had taken place after the incident, or whether his statement had been recorded. “Except one meeting, no other inquiry was held, at least to my knowledge,” he deposed. “No statement was recorded.”
The tribunal asked whether the jamming devices that had been fitted in the Land Cruiser were functional before and at the time of the bomb blasts. SP Baloch said that the devices in his vehicle had been functional before the blasts but he did not know whether they were in order at the time the bombs went off. He added that the jamming devices had been checked at Terminal 1 [from where the PPP procession started on its route] and found to be in order by Major (retd) Imtiaz, the PPP security nominee.
Responding to another query, SP Baloch said that a bomb disposal squad had checked the float before the arrival of Ms Bhutto.
He also informed the tribunal that no policeman or intelligence agency personnel had been posted inside the float that was carrying Ms Bhutto. SP Baloch said that two days before Ms Bhutto’s arrival in Karachi, he had attended a security meeting chaired by the capital city police officer (CCPO) Azhar Ali Farooqui at the Salim Wahidi Auditorium. SP Baloch said that no one had suggested at the meeting that a police officer be deployed inside the PPP float.
He added that Ms Bhutto’s float had been under the guard of PPP workers who called themselves Jan Nisaran-i-Benazir, that police mobiles had been covering the vehicle from all four sides while another vehicle fitted with jamming devices was following the caravan in the rear.
After SP Baloch’s statements were recorded, the tribunal adjourned further proceedings until Dec 15.
The tribunal also issued notices to the additional secretary of the Home Department, Naveed Ahmed Sheikh, DIG Traffic Wajid Ali Durrani and DIG Headquarters Waseem Ahmed. They were asked to appear before the inquiry tribunal on Dec 15 and record statements regarding the minutes of the meeting between the administration and the organisers of the Oct 18 rally, when matters such as security issues and the traffic plan were discussed.
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