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Govt condemns

Iqbal Raad's murder

ISLAMABAD: An official spokesman of the government of Pakistan expressed a deep sense of shock and grief at the brutal murder of Iqbal Raad, a senior lawyer, who was one of the principal defence counsel in the case against deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other individuals, currently being conducted in Karachi.

"It is also a matter of shock and grief to learn the tragic murder at the same time and place of two other individuals, S. A. Khatri and Ghulam Abbas, a Naib Qasid (peon), working in the office of Iqbal Raad," said a statement by an official spokesman here.

The government of Sindh has initiated immediate action to investigate this tragedy and bring the culprits to justice.

Only a conclusive investigation will establish whether there was a personal motive to these murders unrelated to the Nawaz Sharif case.

However, the spokesman said that this savage act perpetuated against unarmed people also compels all to ask the question; who benefits the most from such a cowardly and dastardly attack on a senior lawyer associated with an important trial.?

Firstly, the total transparency of all proceedings of the plane hijacking case being held in Karachi since December 1999 in which the deposed prime minister and other co-accused are charged with grave offences is being conducted with complete impartiality.

This has clearly worried those forces outside Pakistan and inside the country, which have unnecessarily tried to misrepresent the impartiality of the trial.

The fact that Nawaz Sharif is actually receiving a free, fair and open trial, which is being observed every minute and every day by international media, diplomatic representatives and the national media, is solid proof of the government's commitment to an independent judiciary and to justice, said the spokesman.

Some heinous act had to be done to divert attention from this truth, and try to make headlines across the world, he added.

Secondly, with the decision by President Clinton to visit Pakistan on March 25, 2000, once again those very forces outside and inside the country who have campaigned directly or indirectly to prevent the visit were extremely disappointed at the success achieved by Pakistan in nullifying hostile moves.

Some action therefore had to be taken by such elements to promote a sense of insecurity about law and order conditions in Pakistan, he said.

Thirdly; those external forces which have been trying to misrepresent Pakistan as a country linked to terrorism were also confounded by the clear and categorical condemnation of all forms of terrorism by Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf, and by the explicit steps taken by the govenrment such as the ban placed on public display of weapons with effect from March 1, 2000. Therefore such action had to be taken to resolve the false and misleading image of Pakistan as a place linked with violence and terrorism, said his statement.

The spokesman said no effort will be spared to conduct an immediate inquiry into all aspects of this terrible incident. All possible efforts will be made to increase security for both the prosecution and defence lawyers appearing in the trial.

The spokesman said the people and the government of Pakistan are committed to maintaining conditions of peace and security both internally and in the region. They will not be deflected from their commitment by such callous acts committed by those, who are hostile to this country and its stability.ÑAPP