PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday sought a written reply from the federal government on a petition seeking the court orders for the Commission of Inquiry into the Abbottabad Incident to probe the claim that then president Asif Ali Zardari knew about the US military operation against Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden beforehand.

Justice Syed Afsar Shah and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim issued the order after holding a preliminary hearing into the petition filed by freelance journalist Shahid Orakzai.

The petitioner requested the bench to instruct the Abbottabad commission that after examining the evidence of the alleged communication between then president Zardari and then Pakistani Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani ahead of the US raid should submit its report within 30 days.

Petition seeks probe into claim that then president Zardari knew about US raid beforehand

He prayed the court to seek an affidavit from the former president denying the secret communication by the Pakistani ambassador that bypassed the Foreign Office as well as the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

However, the bench observed that it would seek reply from the federal government through the interior secretary to know their viewpoint on the matter.

Mr Orakzai alleged that the respondent (Zardari) was covertly connected with the American CIA in relation to its operation against Osama bin Laden, while his connection would prove before the Commission of Inquiry into the Abbottabad Incident.

He added that in view of the betrayal in 2011, Mr Zardari’s latest oath as member of the National Assembly couldn’t be trusted for the purpose of the Constitution.

The respondents in the petition are former president Zardari, Commission of Inquiry into Abbottabad Incident chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal and the interior secretary.

The petitioner claims that in the last week of April 2011, Mr Zardari as the country’s president betrayed the ‘security of Pakistan’ by concealing secret information received from Washington DC about the upcoming US military operation against Osama bin Laden.

“For sure, he (Zardari) had no means to confi rm the intelligence yet he could avert the attack either by calling the US ambassador or making the Proclamation of Emergency under Article 232 of the Constitution,” he said.

The petitioner claimed that the commission’s chairman was duly informed of the matter in writing where after the commission had summoned the petitioner.

He added that he had assured the commission that he held irrefutable documentary evidence that Zardari did know about the attack in the last week of April, 2011 and the proof could be examined.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2018