No progress in probe of Saudi diplomat murdered in #pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The failure of the Sindh authorities in finding clue to the Saudi diplomat’s murder in Karachi five weeks ago could cast a shadow on the ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The spymasters of the two countries have spoken to each other twice about the incident but despite assurances from Pakistan no progress in investigation has been reported to the Saudi government.

Well-placed diplomatic sources told The News here that the Saudis have reminded the host country a number of times about this delay. Gunmen on a motorbike shot and killed the Saudi diplomat, Hassan Misfir Al-Qahtani, on May 16 as he was driving to the Saudi mission in the morning. It happened just days after two hand grenades were tossed at the Saudi consulate building. “We take responsibility,” a spokesman for al-Qaida-linked Taliban had said by telephone from an undisclosed location, referring to the killing of the diplomat the same day.

The attack on the Saudi diplomat took place against the backdrop of tensions between the Sunnis and the Shiites in the region. The diplomat was driving a silver Toyota Corona and was alone. A 9-mm pistol was used in the assault. Saudi Arabia condemned what it described as a “criminal attack” and said it would investigate alongside the Pakistani authorities. The victim was a member of the security staff at the consulate. The shooting was carried out by two men on a motorbike and appeared linked with the grenade attack on the mission a week ago, which caused some damage but no injuries.

“We condemn this attack. No one who carries out this kind of attack can be a Muslim. They are beast,” the Saudi ambassador, Abdul Aziz Ibrahim bin Saleh Al-Ghadeer remarked. A Saudi foreign ministry official said the kingdom will increase security for its diplomats in countries considered as danger zones, starting with Pakistan. “We will start with Pakistan, but if security is needed in other countries, we won’t hesitate,” said the official, who declined to be named. He declined to specify which countries might see heightened security measures.

The attacks on the consulate and its staff also follow the May 2 US raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden (OBL), the Saudi-born chief of the Al-Qaida terrorist network. The organisation is violently opposed to the Saudi government and has vowed revenge for the killing of OBL. The PNS Mehran Base in Karachi was attacked six days after the assassination of the Saudi diplomat but no link has been established between the two incidents. “We trust the Pakistani authorities and hope they will identify the terrorists and bring them to justice. The authorities in Karachi are working very hard and we trust them. We are working together. We trust Pakistan will do its best to ensure the terrorists are caught and identified,” Abdul Aziz Al-Ghadeer had said.

Al-Qahtani, 30, was the father of a two-week-old girl and was due to end his term of service in Karachi in less than three weeks. Four individuals on two motorbikes, their faces covered, opened fire on Al-Qahtani with Kalashnikov rifles when he was only one kilometre from the consulate.

The Saudi envoy said immediately after the incident: “we have informed the Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik of the need to keep us updated on every step of the investigation.” Malik also described the killing as “an act of terrorism”.

The minister assured the envoy that the government would make every effort to bring the criminals to justice as quickly as possible. Malik said that a team had been set up to provide immediate report on the incident and that orders had been given for security measures to be stepped up at the Saudi mission in Karachi and to “provide all Saudis in Karachi proper protection”. Falih Al-Ruhaili, the Saudi Consul General in Karachi, said that Al-Qahtani’s killing was a “faithless and loathsome act”.

The local police chief Saud Mirza contended that Karachi has seen a number of killings in recent times, and there is a possibility that this murder could have been committed by local gangs.

Security sources said that Al-Qahtani was attacked one kilometre from the Saudi Consulate building. They said the area is home to a number of consulates, official buildings and residences.

The sources said the Saudi ambassador has taken up the matter with the authorities but of no consequence. Pakistan’s new ambassador for Saudi Arabia Naeem Khan is supposed to leave for Riyadh to take up his new assignment in about ten days and is likely to be asked about the progress in the case. He will get briefing from the relevant authorities on the progress, if any, in the case, the sources said.