Daily Times

One, Pakistan is on fire. Pakistanis are dying, streets are burning, some 200 bank branches have gone up in smoke, three dozen petrol pumps blazed, a thousand vehicles burnt, two dozen railway stations burnt and six dozen train coaches have been set ablaze.
Two, the people of Pakistan are—rightly or wrongly—convinced that the ongoing process of investigation is seriously flawed.
Three, the people of Pakistan are—rightly or wrongly—convinced that our crime investigation agencies either lack the capacity or the commitment (or both) to reach a satisfactory determination of facts.
Four, in the eyes of the people of Pakistan the credibility of any conclusion arrived at by our own investigation agencies will be next to zero.
Five, the opinion around the world is calling for an international probe.
Six, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the highest ranking woman in the history of the US Government, has said that a credible probe of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s assassination should be linked to future US aid to Pakistan.
Seven, the unanimous demand from within and outside of Pakistan is that all those responsible for the assassination of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto be “identified and held accountable”.
Eight, the unanimous demand from within and outside of Pakistan is that the executive authority of the investigation probe be outside of Pakistan preferably with the United Nations.
Nine, the fact remains that Pakistan lags far behind in the application of forensic sciences (including forensic pathology). Our investigation agencies lack both the tools and the resources to be able to come up with answers to questions of acute legal interest from within and outside of Pakistan.
Ten, the fire within Pakistan cannot be put out until all ‘organisers, perpetrators and sponsors’ behind Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s assassination are brought to justice.
Eleven, when General Asif Nawaz Janjua, the Chief of Army Staff from 1991 till 1993, died an untimely, controversial death the Government of Pakistan had sought help from foreign investigators.
Twelve, when Murtaza Bhutto (September 18, 1954 — September 20, 1996) was assassinated in Karachi Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had called in international investigators (foreign experts were sent back when Shaheed Bhutto’s government fell on November 5, 1996).
Thirteen, when the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad was bombed the Government of Pakistan had called in foreign investigators.
Fourteen, over the past year Pakistan has suffered an average of one suicide bombing per week.
Fifteen, the world is calling on the Government of Pakistan to bring to “justice the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors” of December 27.
Sixteen, an international independent investigation Commission under the auspices of the United Nations will strictly “respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political independence” of Pakistan.
Let the Secretary-General of the United Nations “undertake without delay the steps, measures and arrangements necessary for the speedy establishment and full functioning of a Commission, including recruiting impartial and experienced staff with relevant skills and expertise.”
Let the Commission “determine procedures for carrying out its investigation, taking into account” Pakistani law and judicial procedures.
Let the United Nations call on all States and all parties to “cooperate fully with the Commission, and in particular provide it with any relevant information they may possess pertaining” to Dec 27.
Let the Secretary-General notify a period within which the Commission shall complete its investigation.
Let the Commission report to the Security Council on the conclusions of its investigation.
Let the Secretary-General tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. (Some of the above text has been taken out of Security Council’s Resolution 1595 that established the United Nations Independent Investigation Commission to assist the Lebanese authorities in their investigation of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Bahaeddine al-Hariri.)

Dr Farrukh Saleem is an Islamabad-based economist and analyst