Nawaz accuses ISI of negligence, incompetence: setting up of CJP-led commission demanded

Rejecting government's inquiry committee on Abbottabad incident, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday demanded formation of a Judicial Commission in three days to thoroughly investigate and 'fix responsibilities' in the backdrop of the US unilateral raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed.
Briefing media persons after the two-day long joint meeting of the party's Central Organising Committee and parliamentary party, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said that the way the US commandos conducted operation in Abbottabad was humiliating and it indicated that our defence system was quite obsolete and also termed it a failure of intelligence.
He, while rejecting the government's inquiry committee on Abbottabad incident, demanded that a Judicial Commission with Chief Justice of Pakistan as president with chief justices of the five high courts should be set up to a thorough probe into the incident and present its report within 21 working days to the Parliament from the date of its notification, adding that country's sovereignty has been seriously violated and his party would not remain silent on the issue.
About the terms of reference and powers of the proposed Judicial Commission, Nawaz Sharif said these should be to ascertain the full facts regarding the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and the US operation on the night of May 2, to determine the nature and causes of failures of the civil and military authorities in dealing with matters relating thereto, to determine whether there are any agreements, tacit or explicit, for allowing such US operations in Pakistani territory, and whether such agreements are legally and constitutionally valid; and to fix responsibility for and propose actions against persons responsible for the said failures compromising dignity, self respect and sovereignty of Pakistan and recommend remedial measures.
The commission may for the effective performance of its functions, co-opt and summon any person in the Service of Pakistan and any other person to render such assistance to the commission as it may require, he said, adding that the commission shall formulate its own procedure as may be deemed necessary and shall have all the powers conferrable on a commission under the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act, 1956.
Nawaz Sharif said that he has also written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding setting up of the proposed commission to bring all the facts before the nation. To a question whether the civil and military leadership should tender resignations on the Abbottabad issue, he said "we should talk with patience and foresightedness until the report of the commission comes".
He warned that in case the PML-N's demand for the constitution of the Judicial Commission was not accepted then the party would decide its future course of action. He said that today's situation reminded the scenario of 1971. The PML-N's chief who had recently undergone a heart surgery in London, went on saying that two incidents have demoralised the nation - one the release of Raymond Davis and the second Abbottabad operation.
He regretted that the government instead of giving solid answers to many questions being raised on the Abbottabad operation was creating further confusion with its statements. He said that the operation has also demoralised the security forces which have sacrificed many lives in the war on terror. However, he said that the armed forces also did not offer a satisfactory explanation about the operation. "Our secret agencies chase politicians but couldn't see what was happening right under their noses? They continue to play political chess, which has plunged the country into world-wide humiliation", he added.
Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan did not support terrorism and wanted its relations with the international community and the neighbours on the basis of equality and mutual respect but would not allow any country to violate its sovereignty. The PML-N Chief underscored the need for bringing reforms and a change in policies to face the challenging circumstances, adding that we have totally been isolated, no one is standing by Pakistan, except China. "Even our friends will abandon us if such circumstances prevailed," he added.
About the in-camera session of the Parliament to be briefed by security forces on Friday, Nawaz Sharif said that there should be a similar briefing for the entire nation to know the facts.
Reuters adds: Pakistan's opposition leader accused the powerful spy agency of negligence and incompetence on Wednesday as the country's former president said rogue members of the security establishment may have helped Osama bin Laden hide for years near Islamabad.
Ratcheting up pressure on the country's military as it fights off suspicion that it sheltered the al Qaeda leader, rival India named five Pakistani army officers in a list of 50 criminals it wants extradited to stand trial on terror charges. Nawaz Sharif, who heads Pakistan's largest opposition group, rejected a government decision to put an army general in charge of the inquiry into intelligence lapses.
Sparing the government and its leaders in his tirade over the surprise breach of Pakistan's sovereignty by American forces, Sharif said is the "worst case of negligence and incompetence" by the country's security agencies. "It is matter of serious concern that our security institutions knew nothing when the helicopter gunships and commandos remained in our territory and airspace for so long," he told a news conference.
Sharif also demanded how it was that the world's most wanted man could be holed up in a compound less than a kilometre from the country's main military academy, and bemoaned the damage that the incident had caused to Pakistan's reputation abroad. "Isn't it true that world considers us as a country that abets and exports terrorism?" he said. "Isn't it true that all crimes everywhere in the world have links with our home?" Meanwhile, former president Pervez Musharraf, told the ABC News network that there was a possibility that rogue junior officers in the country's intelligence and military might have been aware of bin Laden's whereabouts for years.
"It's really appalling that he was there and nobody knew," he said. "But rogue element within is a possibility. The possibility ... (is that there was), at the lower level, somebody following a policy of his own and violating the policy from above."
Pakistan rejects allegations that it was either incompetent in tracking down the man behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States or complicit in hiding him in the town of Abbottabad just 50 km (30 miles) from Islamabad. "We wouldn't be naive enough to be complicit in this affair. We would be risking not only the future of our country, but also the future of our children," a senior security official said, adding that if there was a support network protecting bin Laden it did not come from within the security establishment.
The security official said the Navy SEALs operation had left the army and the ISI "discredited in the eyes of the public". "We are very angry about this breach of trust," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The space for co-operating with the Americans on military and intelligence operations has been shrunk because of this incident."
Pakistani co-operation is crucial for Washington's efforts to combat Islamist militants and bring stability to Afghanistan, and the US administration's decision on Tuesday to send Senator John Kerry to Islamabad suggests it is keen to contain the fallout. Kerry, a Democrat who is close to the Obama administration, is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Co-author of a 2009 bill that tripled non-military aid to Islamabad, he is seen as a friend of Pakistan. Nevertheless, US lawmakers are questioning whether Pakistan is serious about fighting militants in the region, and some have called for a suspension of American aid to Islamabad.
Militant factions, including al Qaeda, have vowed revenge for the killing of al Qaeda. In what may be the first such demonstration of that, on Wednesday two men on a motorbike threw a couple of hand grenades at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Karachi. No one was hurt, police said. They said it was too early to say if the attack was linked to the death of bin Laden.
The United States is hoping to question the three wives of bin Laden who were left in the Abbottabad compound after the US raid and are being detained, although Pakistani officials played down the possibility of any speedy access. US investigators, who have been sifting through a huge stash of material seized during the operation, believe the wives could help them trace bin Laden's movements and his network.
ABC News quoted Pakistani officials as saying that they were interested in studying the remains of a US helicopter that crashed during the raid, which experts believe was a version of the Blackhawk modified with stealth features. One official told the network that China, an ally of Pakistan, was interested in examining the remains of the helicopter and another said "We might let them take a look". But Pakistani military officials dismissed the report saying there was no intention to give the wreckage to China, nor had China asked to see it. "Someone's aiming to spread alarm," one official said.