Murtaza Bhutto

THERE WAS ONE CALL FROM PRESIDENT'S HOUSE
H. A. Hamied
KARACHI, Dec. 8, 1996: Testifying before the inquiry tribunal, the additional
commissioner/ADM of Karachi said "yes" to a question that the entire force
deployed at Mideast Hospital were concentrating on Mir Murtaza Bhutto,
because he was the brother of the then prime minister.
Niaz Hussain Shah, additional commissioner of Karachi, was answering
questions from the tribunal, comprising Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, judge of
the Supreme Court; Justice Amanullah Abbasi and Justice Dr Ghous
Mohammad.
To another question, the witness said: "You may say so, sir," when asked that
the testimony shows that the liaison between various officials working on the
scene of the incident and at the hospital was very weak. On the day of the
incident, he was SDM and recently he has been made ADM.
Q: Everybody, including the DC and seven SDMs, it seemed were concerned
only about the life of Mir Murtaza, and the other dead and injured men were
not taken care of. Why was it so that no real and urgent action was taken for
the injured which could have saved their lives? The seven dead men were
also neglected, any reason for this obvious negligence?
A: Our job was to act on the advice of the DC and we acted according to the
directions given by him.
Q: We are dealing with people, not buildings, where the lives of people are
involved. Did you make any offer to shift the injured or the dead to safer
places or to hospitals?
A: No.
Q: According to your knowledge, was any inquiry made, or action taken,
specially when the DC was transferred 10 days later, about the lapses?
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