ABBOTABAD:
Authorities on Saturday evening began tearing down the
infamous compound of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden where he was hunted
down by US commandos in a top-secret raid in May last year.
A private construction firm was hired to bulldoze the structure
following the green light from the judicial commission investigating the
circumstances that led to the US Navy SEAL raid, official sources told media .
“Workers are expected to pull down the building by 3am,” said an
official source, adding that heavy machinery had been moved to Bilal
Town, the neighbourhood next to Pakistan Military Academy where the
structure is located.
Soon after a visit to the mansion by the Abbottabad commission
members, the belongings of the Bin Laden family were moved to an
undisclosed location in anticipation of its demolition.
Sources said that security forces, who were standing guard at the
compound, handed its control to the civil administration before its
demolition started at around 8.30pm.
Witnesses said troops blocked access to the compound, brought heavy
machinery and barred journalists from taking pictures or coming close to
the site. As workers started demolishing the structure in the glare of
floodlights, local residents were asked to remain indoors till the
structure was razed.
The triple-storey house, built over an area of 38,000 square feet and
worth Rs85 million, has been under the control of the security forces
and police since the May 2011 raid.
Two months ago, the authorities had detained the Danish ambassador,
his wife and their security officer for visiting the area. During the
last 10 months, more than eight Pakistani and foreign journalists were
also detained for taking photographs of the compound.
“They should have razed it much earlier to spare us frequent questioning and surveillance,” said local resident Iqbal.
“The area people will now heave a sigh of relief,” added Tariq,
another resident of Bilal Town. “At least the Bin Laden chapter is
closed for us now.”
ABBOTTABAD: By the directives of the Chief justice
Peshawar High Court , Provincial Anti Corruption Team has rushed to
Abbottabad and started the inquiry about the irregularities &
corruption charges against the Principal Ayub Medical college
Abbottabad ,leveled by a senior employee of the said medical
institution .
The bench
started regular hearing of the petitions on Wednesday. The court first
took up the petition of Syed Zafar Ali Shah, suspended MNA of PML from
Islamabad. The representative petition of PML would be taken next and
Khalid Anwer would argue the case on behalf of the party. Other
petitions before the court are of Syed Imtiaz Hussain Bukhari,
challenging the PCO; Fazal Ellahi Siddiqui, challenging the PCO; Shahid
Orakzai, seeking restoration of Senate, office of speakers and
provincial assemblies; Al-Jehad Trust, seeking restoration of
Constitution to the extent of judiciary; and Syed Iqbal Haider of MWM,
seeking validation of PCO. The bench consisted of Justice Irshad Hasan
Khan, Justice Mohammad Bashir Jehangiri, Justice Sheikh Ijaz Nisar,
Justice Abdur Rehman Khan, Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad, Justice Chaudhry
Mohammad Arif, Justice Munir A. Sheikh, Justice Rashid Aziz Khan,
Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry,
Justice Qazi Mohammad Farooq and Justice Rana Bhagwandas.
“Historic”, we are being told — and
told without end — is what the judgment of their Supreme Court lordships
is. General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s Nov 3, 2007, action has been
declared “unconstitutional” and “civil society” is ecstatic, some of our
wilder drumbeaters assuring us that the doors on military
interventionism have been closed forever. Ah, if wishes were horses. The
Supreme Court judgment not so much revises history as cuts it up,
wrapping it in neat packages. For it declares only one action of
Musharraf’s unconstitutional — his Nov 3 Emergency, which came at the
fag end of his rule. The inescapable conclusion we are left with is that
everything else the man did fell within the ambit of the 
