INITIAL BHUTTO INVESTIGATION BRIEFED TO DIP CORPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 005392 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2017 TAGS: PGOV PK PREL PTER MARR ASEC SUBJECT: INITIAL BHUTTO INVESTIGATION BRIEFED TO DIP CORPS REF: ISLAMABAD 5384 Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: At a special briefing for the diplomatic corps December 29, Interior Secretary Kamal Shah presented the GOP's "initial findings" from the investigation into the Bhutto assassination. Basing his conclusions primarily on medical reports, Shah stated that Bhutto was killed by the blunt impact of her head against the vehicle's sun roof hatch where she was thrown by the suicide bomber's blast. Based on a cell phone intercept, Shah reported that Baitullah Mehsood's al Qaeda-Pakistan was behind the assassination. All this evidence would be shared with the Bhutto family, which would be able to choose a Lahore High Court judge to lead a parallel inquiry into whether security deficiencies occurred, as has been alleged. Shah committed to continued security support to the diplomatic legations, but requested that ambassadors defer travel to Larkana "until things cool down." RSO has followed up with Interior Secretary Kamal Shah to obtain more details on the investigation. End summary. "Tragic Assassination" -------------- ¶2. (C) Interior Secretary Kamal Shah met with the diplomatic corps in Islamabad December 29 to brief the initial findings of the investigation into the December 27 assassination of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto. He stated that this information was being provided to be helpful, not/not as a "defense" of GOP actions before or since the assassination. ¶3. (C) Shah opened by stating that the GOP "shares the grief and sorrow of the nation," adding his condolences to Bhutto's family and supporters. He reiterated President Musharraf's condemnation, in the strongest terms, of this "tragic assassination." He informed the assembled diplomats that Pakistan Army troops had been moved to Karachi and interior Sindh to maintain the peace. ¶4. (C) Shah noted the multiple assassination attempts/plots since 2001 against Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, as well as other cabinet members and army and police officials. He also mentioned the assassination attempt against Bhutto upon her return to Karachi on October ¶18. Shah blamed al Qaeda-Pakistan, led by Baitullah Mehsood, for all these terrorist acts, including Bhutto's assassination. (Note: The Ambassador later stated that we should keep the focus on who killed Benazir Bhutto, not just the details of the investigation. She added that USG information confirmed the long-standing efforts of Mehsood to kill Bhutto.) Criminal Investigation -------------- ¶5. (C) Shah emphasized that the information he was providing from Pakistan's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was preliminary. The CID Inspector General was leading an interagency team and had requested the assistance of domestic explosive experts. He added that Pakistan was not requesting international help at this time. (Note: The Ambassador later offered Shah USG law enforcement assistance.) The head of the suicide bomber had been recovered, Shah claimed, and domestic forensic experts were currently trying to reconstruct the face. ¶6. (C) Recounting the timeline of December 27 evening, Shah stated that the Rawalpindi rally site was enclosed and "swept" for explosives before the campaign event. The estimated 15,000 people who attended the rally were all searched before entering the area, Shah claimed. The attack happened on the road outside. Bhutto was standing in the sun roof of her armored SUV when three shots were fired, followed by a blast. These actions were executed by the same attacker, Shah posited. The other SUV occupants -- PPP President Makhdoom Amin Faheem, personal aide Naheed Khan, and security chief Iftiaz Hussain, who remained inside the vehicle -- were not injured. ¶7. (C) Shah presented photos showing damage to the vehicle on Bhutto's left, while her blood was found only on her right. ISLAMABAD 00005392 002 OF 003 (Note: We have some photos, and RSO will obtain more.) Bhutto did not suffer bullet wounds from the three shots, contrary to initial press reports. These reports were "premature." Instead, she was killed by a blow ("depressed fracture") to her right temple by a "blunt object." Shah concluded that the blast propelled Bhutto into a latch on the sun roof hatch. In response to the Ambassador's specific question about the discrepancy between initial reports from the scene and Shah's presentation now, Shah said the GOP's findings were principally based on the medical report from the seven doctors who attended to Bhutto at Rawalpindi General Hospital. He said a number of early reports were conveyed to the press from onlookers at the scene but turned out to be wrong. He added that the body was also x-rayed, but a full autopsy was not conducted at Asif Ali Zardari's (husband) insistence. Shah said, in response to a later question, that the government had sought a full post-mortem but was rebuffed by the family. "Strong Piece of Evidence" -------------- ¶8. (C) Since the attack, the GOP had intercepted a call from a Mehsood cell phone to an unidentified speaker, Shah stated. Emphasizing that sharing this information was contrary to investigative protocols and would likely leave the GOP "blind for several days" on Mehsood activities, the taped conversation was such a "strong piece of evidence" against al Qaeda that he had decided to go public. ¶9. (C) In this intercepted Mehsood conversation, he reportedly congratulates the unidentified speaker and asks for the names of the actual attackers. The unidentified speaker obliges, naming two men. Shah claimed that a pair of attackers would be consistent with al Qaeda's modus operandi: one suicide bomber (preoccupied with the detonation) and an on-the-ground guide. Unlike previous attacks, it is believed that this suicide bomber also fired a weapon, heard on the video of the scene. Shah speculated that this new aspect was designed to disperse the principal's security personnel. He said that the only question that arose was why he did not have the names of the individual bombers. Shah speculated that Mehsood had dispatched a number of potential suicide bombers. GOP Precautions -------------- ¶10. (C) Shah insisted to the assembled dip corps that Bhutto had received adequate security support from the GOP, noting that no other former prime minister received such protection and that not even the protection given to a sitting prime minister could stop all attacks (i.e., the attempts against now former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz). ¶11. (C) Shah further noted that Bhutto was provided by the GOP a dedicated security officer of her choosing. In addition, her vehicle was flanked on both sides and in front by security vehicles. In response to PPP claims that electronic jammers did not work, Shah noted that jammers only disrupt a remote signal, but are useless against a suicide bomber who manually detonates an explosive. Parallel Judicial Inquiry -------------- ¶12. (C) The Ambassador asked Shah to clarify the purpose of a parallel judicial inquiry, announced December 28. Would it have independent investigators? Shah responded that this inquiry, to be led by an as-yet-named Lahore High Court justice, would confirm the event's timeline and Bhutto's cause of death, as well as identify any security deficiencies. Shah stated that he had contacted PPP security advisor Rehman Malik to relay the offer that Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, select the judge whom he wanted to lead this parallel inquiry. Zardari had not yet responded. ¶13. (C) In contrast, the CID investigation would aim to arrest and prosecute the assassins and conspirators, Shah stated. Everything briefed December 28 "would be evidence at trial." Additionally, this evidence "will be shared, in full, with the PPP," Shah committed. ¶14. (C) Comment: RSO has followed up with Interior Secretary ISLAMABAD 00005392 003 OF 003 Kamal Shah to get access to the assassination scene pictures and Bhutto x-rays to try to assess these GOP initial findings. The offer to ask Zardari to name the judge who will preside over a parallel judicial inquiry is a welcome one, but it remains to be seen if this will satisfy PPP critics of the investigation. End comment. PATTERSON