Murtaza Bhutto

UK DETECTIVES WERE PAID 200,000 POUNDS
H. A. HAMIED
KARACHI, Feb. 11, 1997: Testifying for the second time on Tuesday as a
witness before the Murtaza murder case tribunal, Sindh home secretary
Manzoor Hussain Bhutto said the British team of detectives had submitted a
preliminary and final report to the government of Sindh. The title of the
report is "Fatal Shooting at Clifton Garden, Karachi, on 20 September 1996 -
preliminary/final report of the independent inquiry team" for which the
government had paid a sum of 200,000 pounds sterling in foreign exchange.
The experts stayed in Karachi from October 28 to November 8, 1996.
The home secretary presented a copy of the report before the tribunal and,
along with it, he submitted seven documents all related to the sanctioning of
Rs 13 million. He said the finance department of the government of Sindh had
sanctioned Rs 13 million for the payment to the British experts in Pakistani
currency and the money was kept at the disposal of the IG Police, Sindh, and
with the change in government at the Centre and in the province, no payment
was made by the provincial government and the sanctioned amount was
returned to the treasury. According to Manzoor Bhutto's understanding, the
money was paid by the federal government from its own resources.
The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, judge of the
Supreme Court, observed that it was a lot of money paid from the public
exchequer and the beneficiary may retire in Brazil for the rest of his life, and
the money kept in deposit can earn and his family for the next 400 years. He
also observed that many more lives were lost in the past but never the
investigators from outside were called at such a heavy cost. Such lavish
expenditure will affect the people of Pakistan who are deprived of schools,
clean water, health facilities, good roads etc. The witness said on Nov. 8, the
IG police gave him a sealed envelope containing the preliminary report of the
team of investigators and on Nov. 29, the final report was submitted to him
by the additional secretary, ministry of interior. He said he first came to know
of the British experts being called on Oct. 12 when he was informed by the
secretary to the chief minister, Rasool Bux, that a decision has been taken to
call the British experts to investigate and to aid the police in their
investigations.
Murtaza Bhutto; Copyright © www.bhutto.org
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