Assassination of Benazir Bhutto & Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi.

ISLAMABAD: In a bitter row within the Pakistan People’s Party over awarding party tickets for reserved women’s seats, Nahid Khan, the political secretary to Benazir Bhutto, has withdrawn her nomination papers in protest over the awarding of a PPP ticket to Farahnaz Ispahani. According to party sources, Nahid Khan was not happy with the award of the party ticket to Farahnaz Ispahani, the wife of Hussain Haqqani, and has informed Benazir Bhutto about withdrawing her nomination papers saying she cannot sit in the National Assembly with Ms Ispahani. Naheed Khan was nominated for a reserved seat from the Punjab while Farahnaz Ispahani was nominated from Sindh. Prior to marrying Farahnaz Ispahani, Hussain Haqqani was married to Naheed Khan’s sister. That could be the reason why Ms Khan did not want to sit with Ms Ispahani in the National Assembly. The News tried to contact Nahid Khan for comments but failed to reach her,as there was no response from her cell phone. However, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar confirmed that Nahid Khan has withdrawn her nomination papers for the National Assembly seat. “When I asked her about it she told me that she has a lot of party work and cannot do justice to parliamentary work so it is better to work for the party,” he said, quoting Nahid Khan.

Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 7

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCqsv3nsR90
Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 8

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIJPO2h_-Rc
Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 9

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HjgxpiZvFI

Babar said, “Nahid Khan also told me that the withdrawal of her nomination papers did not mean that she has any complaint against the PPP and that she remained committed to Benazir Bhutto and the party.” Babar maintained that Nahid Khan is 100 per cent committed to the party and to Benazir Bhutto. “She not only accompanied BB to Quetta on Saturday but has also proceeded to Karachi along with her. We all are at Bilawal House and there is no question of differences or protest on her part,” he responded. Farhatullah Babar further said that Nahid Khan would continue to be with Benazir Bhutto during her election campaign and other engagements in Pakistan. “Nahid told me that she would not be able to discharge responsibilities as BB’s political secretary while being member of the National Assembly.” But PPP insiders were positive that Naheed Khan’s decision was an expression of her displeasure over awarding the PPP ticket to Farah Ispahani. Moreover, she was also believed to be unhappy at reports in the top PPP circles that Hussain Haqqani himself was going to become a senator on a PPP ticket at the first available opportunity.

Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 10

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx4Ge8ZMtEY
Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 11

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn5LFA05Rds

Analysts in Islamabad say Nahid Khan’s refusal to be a member of the NA was probably the first sign that she was losing her formidable clout with Benazir Bhutto. Her husband, Senator Safdar Abbasi is, however, one of the closest advisers to the PPP Chairperson. They say if Naheed Khan has actually opted out of politics because of Mr Haqqani, then it would be a political rebuff to Benazir from one of the closest people around her after recent shocks from many others. Seen in the context of some diehard PPP leaders and supporters breaking ranks with Benazir, it would put the chairperson in an awkward situation. After the shocking decisions of former interior minister General Naseerullah Babar not to accept a PPP ticket, defiance shown by the popular Atizaz Ahsan to withdraw his nomination papers, the recent open letters by former spymaster Masood Sharif, Naheed Khan’s decision would be another road bump. Ms Nahid Khan’s decision will be welcomed by many PPP leaders and workers as she was considered by some to be the ultimate human barrier between them and Benazir Bhutto. Her decision was a shock for many. Even Farhatullah Babar, supposed to be the most informed man in the PPP, was not initially aware of it when he was contacted. REFERENCE: Upset Nahid Khan opts out of polls By Rauf Klasra, Asim Yasin & Dilshad Azeem Monday, December 17, 2007, Zill-Haj 6, 1428 A.H. http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=11771 http://www.pakistanileaders.com.pk/tnewsinds.php?id=1039

LAHORE: Important questions on the sequence of events that led to the assassination of Pakistan’s first woman prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Benazir Bhutto were raised in the Point Blank programme hosted on Express News by anchor Mubasher Lucman on Wednesday. Senator Safdar Abbasi, who was the guest on the show, was asked who had opened the hatch through which Bhutto raised her head and exposed herself to her assassins. Abbasi replied he did not remember but speculated that bodyguard Khalid Shehenshah “might have done so.” He refuted the possibility that the driver or someone next to Bhutto could have opened the hatch as this was not possible.

Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 1

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKm8lDSnZBQ
Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 2

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GNgkf9iaqE

Abbasi also denied that he had slowed the progress of the cavalcade as it left the grounds of Liaquat Bagh by taking the microphone and raising slogans on which party supporters gathered around Bhutto’s vehicle. Programme anchor Lucman commented that it was the slowing of the vehicle and the opening of the hatch that eventually led to the attack on the former premier. Giving details of the seating in the vehicle, Abbasi said that his wife Naheed Khan and PPP leader Amin Fahim sat on either side of Bhutto. In the rear of the vehicle, he along with Khalid Shahenshah and an attendant, Razzaq, shared the seat. In the front, the security chief sat alongside the driver. Abbasi said that there was firing before the suicide bomb attack. “I don’t know who opened the hatch of the vehicle. It was not my responsibility. It may have been opened by Khalid Shehenshah,” he said. Lucman told Abbasi that it was his raising of slogans that slowed the movement of the vehicles but Abbasi replied that the mike was handed to him by Ms Bhutto herself to raise party slogans. Abbasi recalled that it was when these slogans were being raised that Ms Bhutto raised her head through the hatch to acknowledge party supporters. Two shots were fired from the left side following which Ms Bhutto tried to sit down and at the same moment a blast took place in which Ms Bhutto hit her head on the latch, said Abbasi.

Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 3

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys2kPgNJ43M

He also said that the video shows the firing came from the left side and “this may not have hit her. Which bullet hit her remains a mystery.” Anchor Lucman also told Abbasi that his wife, Naheed Khan, was in constant touch with the authorities and it was they who said that a post mortem not be done. But Abbasi denied this and said Naheed Khan was in no position to rule out a post mortem. On the issue, Abbasi said that the family of Ms Bhutto, specifically Mr Zardari, should have had the post-mortem done or the police should not have released the body without doing the post-mortem. Abbasi also said that allegations against him and his wife, Naheed Khan, were false. “There were no investigations by Ms Bhutto against me or my wife.” The anchor also called party member Akhlaq Guddu during the programme who alleged that Ms Naheed Khan had taken Rs10 lakh from him (Guddu) to have a party seat awarded. “I was supposed to pay Rs5 lakh more. I am ready to swear on the Holy Quran that this is what happened.” Abbasi said this was a false charge but clearly stuttered as he said this. Abbasi said that Naheed Khan’s party ticket was not cancelled by Ms Bhutto. “Naheed had withdrawn it,” he revealed. REFERENCE: Benazir Bhutto assassination: Who opened the hatch and slowed the vehicle? Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010. http://tribune.com.pk/story/93535/benazir-bhutto-assassination-who-opened-the-hatch-and-slowed-the-vehicle/

Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi in Meray Mutabiq - 17th April 2010 - Part 1

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phtjr1Mg6RY&feature=related
Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi in Meray Mutabiq - 17th April 2010 - Part 2

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ7xOnIDDSE&feature=related
Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi in Meray Mutabiq - 17th April 2010 - Part 3

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbslsuBA53k&feature=related

Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi in Meray Mutabiq - 17th April 2010 - Part 4

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh1pDw2u_7Q&feature=related

ISLAMABAD: Close associates of late Benazir Bhutto, Dr Safdar Abbasi and Naheed Khan, had sent a secret message to the Zardari House to contradict a report in The News about a shocking perception that they, along with Amin Fahim, were responsible for her assassination. But there has been no response after almost a week. The couple had sent the messageÊlast Sunday but the Zardari House was yet to issue a contradiction of the report as demanded by Dr Safdar Abbasi and Naheed Khan. When contacted by The News, the Information Secretary of the PPP, Sherry Rehman, said she had no idea about the message or something like that. However, unlike Naheed and Abbasi, Amin Fahim did not send any message to the Zardari House. He, however, gave his own reaction to The News to incorporate it in the main story. MAF was of the view that this was totally ridiculous to think that any one of them sitting besides Benazir was responsible for her martyrdom. MAF said they were risking their lives by traveling with Benazir, knowing well that she was the target of suicide bombings. MAF had pointed out that he used to sit on one side of Benazir and Naheed Khan on the other, so that they should be hit first and not Benazir Bhutto.ÊÊ It is believed that this wild and laughable allegation, which was to be made public by a PPP senator at some point in the near future, was aimed at defusing the desperate campaign of MAF to become the prime minister.

Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 4

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd9cqoXpLpw

Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 5

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTmr8i1VvZ0

Story of Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi - Part 6

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il0gJ0KN4ts

However, the leakage of this plan is said to have killed it as no one in the ranks of the party was ready to believe the involvement of the three top lieutenants of Benazir Bhutto in her assassination. Earlier, soon after the publication of the shocking story, Dr Safdar Abbasi, the spouse of Naheed Khan, had sent a message to Asif Ali Zardari that the PPP should contradict a report published in The News last week that there was a strong perception in the camp of Zardari that Naheed Khan, Amin Fahim and Safdar Abbasi were responsible for the killing of Benazir Bhutto. Safdar had conveyed through the messenger that if the contradiction was not issued, then he would use his right to defend himself in the media. The news of the alleged implication of Naheed and Dr Safdar had come as a big shock not only for the spouse but also for the rest of the party leaders.ÊSources close to Dr Safdar Abbasi confirmed to The News that he was shocked to read the story attributed to some sources in the ranks of the PPP close to Asif Zardari. He was not ready to believe that such kind of perception could take roots within the party. This disbelief is said to have convinced him to send a message to the Zardari House. Courtesy: The News, 21/3/2008.

Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi in Jawab Deyh - Part 1

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SCnUUtS2Kg&feature=fvw

Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi in Jawab Deyh - Part 2

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to_SFGtdrvo&feature=channel

Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi in Jawab Deyh - Part 3

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJHZhqGLnjE&feature=channel

Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi in Jawab Deyh - Part 4

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzH9z_9GNEU&feature=channel

Benazir Bhutto: Before her death - 18

Saved by a whisker By MZ

But for Nawaz Sharif, BB and the babas of the MMA between them could have turned the MPC into the greatest and most expensive non event in Pakistan’s political history. In the final hours the host papered over the fundamental differences between the PPP and the MMA on vital issues and pretended to present what Nawaz tried to make it sound like a consensus Declaration. But in actual fact the Declaration reads like a document of differences between the mainstream political parties making up the ARD and the religio-political alliance which goes by the nomenclature of MMA

BB wasn’t there in person. But nothing of the proceedings missed her sharp eyes and ears as she closely followed while sitting in France what was happening at the last week-end’s two-day Multi-Parties Conference (MPC) in London. Journalist-turned-politician, Sherry Rehamn, the PPP’s Information Secretary had kept in continuous touch with Benazir Bhutto through the chat mode of her lap top from the conference room as well as from the closed door drafting committee cubicle in the Orchard Suite of six-star Millennium Gloucester Hotel. And in between various members of the PPP contingent were seen consulting her over their mobiles as well, seeking perhaps specific instructions and answering searching questions.

And as it turned out, without being there in effect she was taking most of the participants except for the Maulanas on a ride. And it was, indeed, a roller coaster ride. It must have been too dizzying for the hosts, the Sharif brothers.

As the drafting committee comprising Imran Khan, Sherry Rehman, Ghafoor Haideri, Safdar Abbasi, Chaudhry Nisar Khan, Ahsan Iqbal, Asfandyar Wali Khan and Mahmood Khan Achekzai were taking too long in reaching a conseunsus, former super duper Interior Secretary of General Ziaul Haq and a close confidante of former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the very redoubtable Roedad Khan, our own Ayaz Amir and another former civil servant and former Punjab minister in the first provincial government of Musharraf who is also a former Pipian, Shafqat Mehmood were pressed ostensibly into the job of making last minute apeals to an adament BB as they were invited to speak actually to relive the boredom of waiting. And the three did make scintilating speeches.Much better than those by the politicians. And the thrust of all of the three was that if we missed the opportunity today (Roedad) and came out with a ‘wishy-washy’ resolution (Ayaz) at this ‘defining moment’(Shafqat) instead of some concerete proposals for action with deadlines, the Conference would only alienate the people who are all but ready to do an Ayub on Musharraf. Poet Ahmed Faraz also pumped up the spirits with a couple of his stirring poems. But all this to no avail.

While the focus was on the PPP and rightly so because of it being the largest political party in the country and because also of the general impression that it was about to enter in to a power-sharing deal with Musharraf, Maulana Fazlur Rehman of JUI who is already sharing power in the current set up and also occupies the slot of friendly opposition was in his own subtle manner and playing with the language was wrecking the MPC without appearing to be doing so. His left hand swipe at the Chief Justice in which he doubted the intention of Chaudhry Iftikhar for refusing to resign, his refusal to boycott the forthcoming elections under any circumstances and then his insistance that the resignation option should be used only as a last resort ( the last two positions almost similar to the PPP’s) went largely unnoticed because unlike the PPP delegation which was expressing its position in unambiguous terms, the Maulana had cleverly camouflaged the specifics in verbiage while presenting the position of his party on various vital issues leaving a wide margin to avoid being pin down on particulars.

Take for instance the Maulana’s remark that one needed also to find out why the CJ has refused to resign. Was it because the PCO judge had wanted to save his job or did he do it in the interest of independence of judiciary. The next day he came out with a clarification which was more an attempt to justify his right to doubt the intentions of the CJ. When I asked him how he could do that, he shot back in visible anger: Why can’t I doubt the intention of a person who had taken oath on the PCO. While saying so he had completely forgotten the role he and his party had played in getting the 17th amendment passed and agreeing in return for making him the leader of the opposition ( while the PPP had the numbers) to give Musharraf one year in uniform. When you give a military dictator the constitutional cover for one year how can you turn around and say that he should not get the same cover without your help the next time?

What Imran Khan and the two Sharif brothers have not yet asked themselves is: Why would the MMA help them to oust their benefactor who had given them one whole province and allowed them to share the government in another and who had marginalised the mainstream mass political parties like PPP and the PMLN to allow the real marginal parties like JI and JUI acquire such a huge politcal clout without having to do much? That is perhaps why the PPP is wary of the MMA and that is why perhaps it does not want to sit along with the MMA on any combined opposition platform to launch a movement against Musharraf. Perhaps they fear that the MMA would immediately hijack such a platform and then bargain with Musharraf for the slot of the Prime Ministership after the next election.

Up for another By Anjum Niaz

Observe a chastened Mushahid Hussain. After months of soulful silence following the CJ bungling by the ISI and military intelligence, he has gingerly bounced back. But his moral compass no longer points singularly towards the Army House. He has slipped into a second skin, immersing into his iPod and books that give him more satisfaction than propping PML-Q dummies or saving the sinking fortunes of Pervez Musharraf. And this is saying a lot for a man who began reaching for the sky a hefty 25 years ago stampeding his way into the corridors of power to pick up the crown that never did fit him.

His bosses, counting from Murtaza Pooya, owner of the defunct daily The Muslim, the Sharif brothers; General Musharraf and Chaudhry Shujaat valued his dynamism and political horse sense. They relished his mother wit but never adopted him as their own the way Ayub Khan ‘adopted’ Z. A. Bhutto as his ‘son’. Always a foster child, Mushahid served his masters well only to be discarded later.

Pooya made the 20-something his editor and sacked him later; the Sharif family ditched him by hopping on to a Saudi-bound plane on December 10, 2000, leaving the incarcerated Mushahid to fend for himself; and now the blundering Gen Musharraf wants Mushahid out of the PML- Q secretary-generalship.

Shujaat Hussain is left holding the baby. The elder statesman and the younger maven enjoy a joyous rapport. Actually the word is ‘frequency’ that Chaudhry Shujaat repeats when asked about the relationship. Mushahid’s only constituency is the Chaudhry (currently battling to keep Benazir out). He often drops in at the senator’s home in Islamabad, sits down to a hearty meal of saag roti and Punjabi delicacies served by the family housekeeper who fusses over him continuously replenishing his plate with hot chappatis made out of whole-wheat flour.

For a catnap and moment of Zen, the Chaudhry retires to Mushahid’s bedroom, feeling fully at home, Dushka Saiyid, the lady of the house being away at Cambridge where she holds the Allama Iqbal chair.

Phone calls from the prime minister or the chief minister Sindh are taken by the two in casual stride. Away from the madding crowd of PML rowdies and crawling intelligence spooks, both the men plot their next move, coolly and collectedly.

Meanwhile, the trailer of the blockbuster ‘Who will call the shots?’ is on from Washington to Islamabad. For running commentary contact Mushahid Hussain. He makes the clips look promising, offering excitement-filled viewing of people in power and their desperate bid to hang on at all costs. As America pushes Benazir Bhutto to centre-stage for becoming the comeback kid, notice her protests get louder and her demands bolder. The nightmare of her knocking at the gates of Islamabad and seizing power on the shoulders of her electorate is making the PML-Q unquiet.

It’s a hand-holding moment for the party chief and his secretary-general. Today, both men need each other as never before (CM Punjab Pervaiz Elahi being out of the equation). They either sink or swim together. They have already received a blunt “message” from the lady to move over. Shujaat and Mushahid are in a huddle fearing a timeout from their protector-in-chief Gen Musharraf and his military intelligence.

Even messenger Tariq Aziz, who until recently was partial to the Chaudhries because he too belongs to Gujrat, appears in a hurry to bring Ms Bhutto back. Love me, love my PML-Q, until now Gen Musharraf’s signature tune has gone silent. Benazir has spurned the offer to form a troika -- Musharraf, Benazir and Shujaat – and rule over us for the next five years as president, prime minister and kingmaker respectively.

Ladies and gentlemen, the witches’ brew gets dense: the PML-Q has retaliated by swiftly moving to expose Benazir Bhutto’s doublespeak. They planted a Trojan Horse at the multi-party conference (APC) held in London last week. Big, bulky and bearded Maulana Fazlur Rehman was selected to stir up trouble for Amin Fahim who was Benazir Bhutto’s proxy at the meeting. Everyone knows about the Musharraf-Benazir deal. Putting the PPP into the pressure cooker, the Maulana’s assignment from PML-Q was to get the PPP on a 24-hour notice to agree to resign en bloc if Musharraf seeks re-election from present assemblies (to call Benazir’s bluff). Poor Amin Fahim was seen fanning his face and Sherry Rehman sheepishly chewing gum with eyes downcast when the final resolution was read out badly mauled by Nawaz Sharif’s sodden delivery in English. Seen grinning was the MMA Maulana Fazlur Rehman, thoroughly enjoying having shoehorned PPP into signing the APC Declaration.

Fazlur Rehman, has played a drop shot for which he will be richly rewarded on his return. Will the PML-Q win the grand slam or will the PPP walk off with the shield that comes complete with the power kit containing an owner’s manual on how to rule? How to compose a cabinet of ‘yes men’? Whose house to bug? Who to get the agencies to harass? The list of ‘how to’ and ‘who to’ is endless and requires a new column to story. Maybe some other time we can go over this exercise, a story that we’ve heard too many times before.

What does America say? You know what? On July 4, the new lady ambassador locked up in her fortress at the Diplomatic Enclave celebrated US Independence Day as fireworks electrified the sky just a mile away (as the crow flies) over Lal Masjid. What she whispered to her two guests – Chaudhry Shujaat and Mushahid Hussain was for their ears only.

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/dmag21.htm

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/dmag22.htm

Courtesy: Dawn Magazine 15 July 2007