Gilani approves summaries of commissions

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday approved the summaries sent by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs proposing the constitution of inquiry commissions for the Abbottabad operation and the murder of Journalist Saleem Shahzad.

According to the statement issued here, Secretary Information has been nominated as Secretary to the Saleem Shahzad's commission while Secretary Cabinet would act as Secretary to the Abbottabad's operation's commission.

Saleem Shahzad's commission would consist of five members which included Supreme Court judge Justice Saqib Nisar, Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court Agha Rafiq, Pervez Shaukat, IGP Punjab Javed Iqbal and IG Islamabad Bin Yaeem.

Abbottabad's commission would be comprised of four members which included Supreme Court judge Justice Javed Iqbal, General (R) Nadeem Ahmed, former Inspector General Police Abbas Khan and former diplomat Jahangir Qazi.

The terms of reference for the Saleem Shahzad's commission are:

(i) to inquire into the background and circumstances of abduction and subsequent murder of Mr. Saleem Shahzad

(ii) to identify the culprits involved in the abduction and subsequent murder of the said journalist;

(iii) recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such gruesome incidents against journalists in future

(iv) to probe the matters of conduct which are in derogation of Articles 4, 9, 17, 19 and 19A of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and to investigate in-depth such background facts.

The commission would submit its report within six weeks and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shall provide secretarial support to the commission.

The Abbottabad operation's commission would (i) Ascertain the full facts regarding the presence of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan; (ii) Investigate circumstances and fact regarding the US operation in Abbottabad on 2nd May, 2011; (iii) Determine the nature, background and causes of lapses of concerned authorities, if any; (iv) Make consequential recommendations.

The Ministry of Interior would provide Secretarial support to the commission.