Islamabad: A commission investigating Osama bin Laden's presence in Pakistan and the covert US raid that
killed him has asked the government to give it access to
187,000 documents, including diaries and letters, found at the
slain al Qaeda leader's compound in Abbottabad.
The commission intends to analyse these documents, which
are being translated from Arabic by security agencies, before
finalising its report.
The documents and some computer discs were found in a
three-storey building in bin Laden's compound after he was
killed by US Special Forces on May 2, media reports said
today.
The commission believes these documents are in the
custody of the ISI, the reports quoted sources as saying.
The process of translating the Arabic documents has begun
and might take two to three months to be completed.
The US Navy SEALs, who carried out the raid against bin
Laden, had taken evidence and documents with them.
The commission's chief, former Supreme Court judge Javed
Iqbal, told a news conference last month that the panel would
complete its investigation in December but the body has been
unable to stick to this deadline.
In a related development, London-based Muttahida Qaumi
Movement chief Altaf Hussain has declined to appear before the
commission to record his statement.
"In response to an invitation of the commission for
participation in a panel discussion held on December 13,
Farooq Sattar, MQM's deputy convener, has conveyed profound
regret of Altaf Hussain for his inability to attend the
discussion," an official announcement said.
During a meeting yesterday, the commission recorded the
statements of several senior journalists and columnists.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 16:01