Osama killing report in few weeks: Pak panel

Islamabad: The head of the Pakistani judicial commission investigating al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's presence in the country and the covert US raid that killed him said on Thursday that the panel was close to completing its probe and would submit a "good report" to government in a "few weeks".

"A little work is left and a good report with recommendations will be submitted. We will request the government to publish the report," Javed Iqbal, the retired Supreme Court judge who heads the panel, told a news conference here.

He refused to set a deadline for submitting the report but said it would be handed over to the government in a "few weeks".

The government will have the final say in whether the report will be made public, he said.

Iqbal dodged a flurry of questions on whether one of the persons killed during the US military raid on a compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad on May 2 was actually bin Laden.

He responded to all such queries by saying that the commission would give its stand on the issue in its report.

"The commission's report will be comprehensive, specific and relevant to the challenges confronting the country, which provided the context in which this tragic national policy, intelligence and security failure occurred," Iqbal said.

The al-Qaeda leader's widows and children and others found in the compound in Abbottabad had been thoroughly questioned and their statements recorded, he said.

After completing the questioning, the commission informed the government that the women and children could be repatriated to their own country as they were no longer needed, he said.

It is now up to the government to decide on their repatriation, Iqbal added.

Recent media reports have suggested that bin Laden's widows and children might be repatriated to Saudi Arabia.

Iqbal said the commission, which is under "no pressure and working independently," had examined about 100 witnesses so far and visited the compound raided by the US military twice.

The panel traced the route used by the US helicopters that "violated Pakistan's sovereignty" and intended to question more persons, including journalists, officials and members of Parliamentary committees, he said.

In response to a question, Iqbal said the commission will point out all lapses, including those of the security establishment and any important individual.

The report will state if any institution was responsible for any lapses and what action should be taken against it, he said.

"The commission is not here to determine the question of guilt or innocence. Its mandate is to highlight lapses and shortcomings and we will do that," he said.

The panel has summoned Pakistan's former envoy to the US, Husain Haqqani, to determine whether there was any "CIA penetration" in Pakistan and the number of visas given to American personnel and their exact duties in the country, Iqbal said.

In response to a question, Iqbal indicated that members of the commission had received threats but had chosen not to give them any importance.

He further said that the leaders of all political parties, including Pakistan People's Party chief and President Asif Ali Zardari, had been requested to appear before the commission.

However, he noted that Zardari enjoyed immunity in such matters by virtue of being President.

The commission had contacted "relevant authorities" to find out about evidence collected from the Abbottabad compound by the US.

It was informed that this evidence is in Arabic and US authorities have said it could take over six months to have it translated, Iqbal said.

The government has asked the panel to probe how bin Laden's presence in Pakistan went undetected, to investigate circumstances surrounding the 40-minute US operation and the nature and causes of lapses by concerned authorities.