Pakistani commission questions bin Ladens
2011-10-05 16:37
Islamabad - A Pakistani commission investigating how Osama bin Laden lived undetected for years in the country has interviewed the al-Qaeda leader's widows and daughters for the first time, it said on Wednesday.
The "exhaustive interview" of bin Laden's three widows and two of his daughters took place on Tuesday, the commission announced in a brief statement.
Officials refused to divulge any further details.
Pakistan took custody of bin Laden's widows, two Saudis and one Yemeni, and around 10 of their children, after US Navy SEALs killed him and flew off with his body from the army town of Abbottabad on May 2.
The incident plunged US-Pakistani relations into crisis.
ISI head questioned
Initial efforts to repatriate the women and children ran aground when the commission in July ordered them to remain in Pakistan until further notice, indicating that it wanted to question them in relation to its inquiries.
The commission also interviewed the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, Ahmad Shuja Pasha, on Wednesday and would question him again on Thursday, it said.
Questioning of a serving ISI chief by a civilian panel is extremely rare in a country where military intelligence is both feared and respected in equal measures and where the power of the army outstrips that of civilian leaders.
The discovery that bin Laden lived in Abbottabad, seemingly for five years, and the unilateral American raid have been described by critics in Pakistan as the military's worst disaster since Bangladesh separated from the country in 1971.
On Tuesday, members of the commission interviewed Shakil Afridi, a government surgeon who is being questioned over a free vaccination campaign he reportedly launched in March-April in the bin Ladens' neighbourhood.
Military, civilian leaders can be summoned
Security officials in the area believe the doctor may have known about bin Laden's presence and shared the information with US intelligence agents.
The commission, which the government set up under pressure from political opposition amid criticisms an internal military inquiry would not be objective, has the power to summon military and civilian leaders.
Headed by Judge Javed Iqbal, the other members of the commission are Abbas Khan, a former police commander, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, a former UN diplomat and retired general Nadeem Ahmed, who used to head the national disaster authority.
The commission said it has been tasked with investigating the "full facts" regarding bin Laden's presence in Pakistan, the circumstances of the American raid that killed him and the lapses "if any" of Pakistani authorities.
