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ISLAMABAD: A member of the judicial commission investigating the May 2 raid by US commandos triggered a controversy on Tuesday by saying in an interview with an Australian radio channel that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had not been aware of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad. This prompted the commission’s chief, Justice Javed Iqbal, to come out with a clarification.
According to a television channel, Justice Iqbal termed the statement of Gen (retd) Nadeem Ahmed “his personal remarks” and not the commission’s finding.
He said no member of the commission should give such a statement that might affect the investigation.
The commission’s mandate includes investigating the reasons of the presence of Osama bin Laden in a compound in Abbottabad.
Its other members are Abbas Khan, a former inspector general of police, and Ashraf Jahangir Qazi, a former diplomat.
It will review the security deficiencies against the backdrop of the unilateral raid by the US and give recommendations about how to stop such incidents.
The commission has been authorised to ascertain facts regarding the presence of Osama in Pakistan; investigate circumstances and facts regarding the US operation; determine the nature, background and causes of lapses by the authorities concerned, if any; and make recommendations.
AP adds: Talking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Gen (retd) Nadeem said he did not believe Pakistani intelligence services or military had helped shelter the Al Qaeda leader.
“Irrespective of what the US says, I have absolutely not an iota of doubt on this, that no government in Pakistan, no military in Pakistan, no intelligence organisation in Pakistan would do such a stupid thing,” he said.
The retired general declined to speak about what the commission had so far uncovered.
He said it appeared that the United States was deliberately trying to weaken the standing of Pakistan’s security establishment.
“People see a clear design — responsible people in the military in the US coming up and saying silly things, then the deliberate leaks in the US media, again, you know, saying things which are not correct,” he said.
“So everybody has started to now understand that there is a deliberate design to undermine the security establishment. And therefore I can see they have closed ranks with the security establishment now.”
Nadeem Ahmed also said the US Central Intelligence Agency’s use of a vaccination programme as cover to try to extract DNA samples from those living in the Osama compound was “morally, legally incorrect”.
