Abbottabad Commission given briefing at PAF HQ

The members who visited included Justice Javed Iqbal, former senior judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and President of the Commission, Abbas Khan, IG (R), Ashraf Jehangir Qazi and Lt Gen (r) Nadeem Ahmed.The Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Air Defence Command, Chaklala gave a detailed statement to the Commission highlighting the events leading to Abbottabad Operation. He elaborated functioning of Radar System which forms the fundamental component of PAF Air Defence System.He also informed the Commission about various locations of low and high altitude PAF Radars and their operational readiness during war as well as peace time. He also indicated situations where Radar System cannot detect an intruding Aircraft/Helicopter due to terrain limitations. He stated that for the past many years and prior to 2nd May 2011, PAF has maintained peace time posture on its western borders.The Commission was also briefed by the pilots who flew aircraft for scanning the area for any intruders on the night between 1st and 2nd May, 2011. On learning about the operation, PAF immediately took adequate operational measures as per standard operating procedure (SOP). PAF aircraft continued their presence in Abbottabad area till early morning, later recovered to their respective air bases. Air Officer Commanding and Pilots of Aircrafts also responded to various questions asked by the Commission.The Commission will visit Abbottabad from 13th-15th September, 2011 to see the site of incident and record the statements of witnesses.