The 1999 Pakistan coup and related events - timeline (BBC articles)

[mogster]

This is a collection of info from the BBC website from 1997 to 2001, focusing on the coup d'etat in Pakistan on October 12, 1999, the Pakistani-Indian relationship during the same period, and touch upon the embassy bombings in 1998. Most links will provide a well of extra info, in the sidebox under related articles.

I realize that much of this info will be known material to people here being politically active during that period, but this is a collection to bookmark, and for newcomers to politics it may be useful to know about these event in detail. The post-911 newsjunkies, that's me allright ;-)

Key events:
In May 1998, Pakistan and India both tested nuclear weapons, and disclosed their nuclear capability. During the summer that year, it nearly came to a direct full out war between the countries, as fighting broke out in Kashmir.
On August 7, 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania were bombed. President Clinton retaliated by sending Cruise missiles against Al Queda camps in Afghanistan and Sudan on August 20. Three days before, on August 17, American 'non-essential' embassy staff was evacuated from Pakistan. On August 19, former PM Bhuttto is charged by a Swiss judge for money-laundering activities.
The coup in Pakistan is set in motion on October 12, 1999 and the military quickly takes control. The ousted PM, Nawaz Sharif, is later charged with murder, kidnapping and corruption. In 2000, the military regime imposes a new rule; no one convicted can hold party office, thus effectively blocking Bhutto and Sharif from entering politics.

Thursday, December 4, 1997
Taleban in Texas for talks on gas pipeline
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/west_asia/37021.stm

Tuesday, 4 November, 1997
Afghan Pipeline: A New Great Game
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/analysis/16777.stm

1998

Tuesday, May 12, 1998
India congratulates itself on nuclear tests
While there has been widespread international condemnation of India for conducting three underground nuclear tests on Monday, in India itself the tests have won the new Hindu nationalist-led government much praise.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/despatches/91326.stm

Wednesday, May 13, 1998
Third World joins the nuclear club

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/05/98/india_nuclear_testing/92783.stm

Monday, 1 June, 1998
Pakistan carries out another nuclear test
Pakistan has carried out another nuclear test explosion, prompting a renewed wave of international criticism.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/asia_nuclear_crisis/archive/103127.stm

Tuesday, 16 June, 1998
Statements from India and Pakistan
The following are selected quotes from statements made by India and Pakistan during nuclear tests carried out by both countries.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/asia_nuclear_crisis/world_media/114139.stm

Monday, June 29, 1998
Pakistan declares nuclear 'superiority'
Pakistan's foreign minister has said his country now has nuclear superiority over India, both in terms of its weaponry and its command and control system.
Speaking to a leading Pakistani newspaper, Gohar Ayub Khan said that if war broke out between India and Pakistan, India would surrender within an hour.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/asia_nuclear_crisis/latest_news/114085.stm

Thursday, July 2, 1998
Pakistani scientist seeks asylum
A man claiming to be a Pakistani nuclear scientist has sought political asylum in the United States and threatened to give details of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.
The man, Iftikhar Chaudhry Khan, released a statement through his lawyer saying he was concerned that Pakistan might be preparing a first strike against India.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/124235.stm

Thursday, July 2, 1998
Pakistan denies nuclear claims
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan has denied allegations that Pakistan was planning a pre-emptive nuclear strike against India.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/124981.stm

Friday, August 7, 1998
US embassies hit in African blasts
Around 80 people are known to have died in two powerful explosions near US embassies in Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/147065.stm

Friday, August 7, 1998
Clinton condemns 'inhuman' bombings
President Clinton has described the bomb attacks against US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as "abhorrent" and said all efforts would be made to catch the bombers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/147180.stm

Friday, August 7, 1998
East Africa: The bombing mystery
All early indications suggest that the targets of the two explosions in Tanzania and Kenya were the US embassy buildings in the two capitals.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/147159.stm

Friday, August 7, 1998
Sharif reshuffles cabinet
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, has announced a cabinet reshuffle, which includes the replacement of the Foreign Minister, Gohar Ayub Khan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/146996.stm

Monday, 10 August, 1998
The story in pictures
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/148428.stm

Tuesday, August 17, 1998
Americans quit Pakistan
The US has started evacuating most of its non-essential diplomatic staff in Pakistan and is urging other Americans in the country to return home.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/152574.stm

Tuesday, August 18, 1998
US evacuees flown out of Pakistan
The US Government has evacuated more than 200 people from Pakistan, after officials decided to withdraw non-essential embassy staff in the wake of the bombings of the US embassies in East Africa.
The evacuees - mainly diplomats and their families - were flown out of Islamabad and Karachi.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/153715.stm

Wednesday, August 19, 1998
Swiss try to charge Bhutto
A Swiss judge has asked the Pakistan authorities to charge the former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, for money laundering activities linked to two Swiss companies.
The judge in Geneva has sent a formal indictment to the federal Swiss authorities in Bern to pass onto the Pakistan Government.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/154058.stm

Thursday, August 20, 1998
Bhutto tries to delay Swiss indictment
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/154931.stm

Friday, August 21, 1998
US missile 'landed in Pakistan'
Pakistan has announced that at least one of the United States missiles targeted at Afghanistan landed in a border town in Pakistani territory, killing five people.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/155551.stm

Saturday, August 22, 1998
Trans-Afghan pipeline suspended
The United States oil and gas company, Unocal, has called a halt to plans to build a $2bn pipeline through Afghanistan following the US air attacks on southern Afghanistan and the Sudan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/156497.stm

Sunday, August 23, 1998
'Terrorist network severely damaged'
Washington says new satellite pictures show the network of suspected terrorist chief, Osama bin Laden, has been severely disrupted.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/156747.stm

Sunday, August 23, 1998
Special report: US strikes
Following bomb blasts at the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in August, President Clinton ordered missile strikes against targets in Afghanistan and Sudan: In-depth coverage from BBC News Online.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/155347.stm
Timeline for this line of events:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/08/98/us_strikes/157188.stm

Monday, August 24, 1998
Hard choices for Pakistan
John King reports on the difficulties facing Pakistan in the wake of US bomb attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/156724.stm

Wednesday, August 26, 1998
Clinton statement in full
The full text of the statement made by President Bill Clinton from the Oval Office in Washington on US military strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/155412.stm

Monday, September 7, 1998
What the CIA didn't know
With the failure of US intelligence to detect both the East Africa bombings and India's recent nuclear tests, Defence Correspondent Jonathan Marcus investigates whether the CIA is losing its edge.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/152627.stm

Thursday, 24 September, 1998
India and Pakistan N-Test ban blow
India and Pakistan have both moved to underline their determination not to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Tests Ban Treaty unless they can guarantee their security.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/asia_nuclear_crisis/latest_news/174461.stm

Sunday, September 27, 1998
Pakistan premier denies corruption allegation
A Pakistani Government spokesman has denied allegations that the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, holds massive undeclared foreign currency assets abroad.
A Sunday London newspaper, the Observer, claimed that a five-year long investigation into Nawaz Sharif had revealed that he not only has massive hard currency assets abroad, but also that he has failed to declare some of them in the manner required by Pakistani law.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/181405.stm

Wednesday, September 30, 1998
Tables turned in Sharif corruption case
A Pakistani investigator whose report formed the basis of corruption allegations against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has himself been charged with misconduct
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/184032.stm

Thursday, November 12, 1998
US sanctions on India, Pakistan, to be eased "very soon"
The United States says the partial lifting of economic sanctions against India and Pakistan, which it announced last week, will take place very soon.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/213421.stm

Friday, November 13, 1998
UN committee deplores nuclear tests
The disarmament committee of the United Nations General Assembly has approved a draft resolution strongly deploring the nuclear tests carried out by India and Pakistan in May.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/213497.stm

1999

Wednesday, May 26, 1999
High altitude stand-off
Following artillery exchanges between Indian troops and about 400 unidentified infiltrators in Indian-administered Kashmir, the deployment by Delhi of war-planes and helicopters is the most serious escalation for more than 20 years.
But as so often in Kashmir, the events of recent weeks have been subject to the usual claims and counter-claims by India and Pakistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/353150.stm

Thursday, May 27, 1999
The balance of firepower
India and Pakistan appear locked into an escalating regional arms race which is causing increasing concern to the world community.
Although war games have been going on for more than 30 years near the line dividing the disputed territory of Kashmir, the political landscape changed radically in 1998.
With a tit-for-tat series of nuclear weapons tests, India and Pakistan brought their nuclear programmes out into the open, dispelling any remaining doubts about their capabilities.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/354270.stm

Thursday, April 15, 1999
Jail sentence for Bhutto
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband have been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to five years in prison.
Benazir Bhutto: "I have been denied a fair trial"
The verdict was announced by a Pakistani court at the end of a trial into charges that Ms Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, received money from a Swiss-based organisation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/319813.stm

Monday, June 28, 1999
Kashmir's cyberwar
There is a zone of conflict between India and Pakistan which has no casualties and no exchanges of fire.
The war is being fought in cyber-space and people from both countries are waging it from their computers.
This battle of electronic propaganda, or cyber-war, has become the latest mode of attack as an increasing number of people from both sides of the conflict churn out inflammatory e-mails and set up jingoistic web pages.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/380179.stm

Monday, July 5, 1999
Clinton urges India-Pakistan talks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/385534.stm

Monday, July 5, 1999
Full text of US-Pakistan statement
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US President Bill Clinton issued a joint statement after nearly three hours of talks on the situation in Kashmir.
Here is the full text of the statement issued in Washington on Sunday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/386171.stm
Friday, July 9, 1999
Analysis: Can Sharif deliver?
Nawaz Sharif has returned to Pakistan to face considerable criticism, after agreeing in Washington to take the initiative to defuse the conflict over Kashmir.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/389884.stm

Monday, July 12, 1999
Sharif appeals for Kashmir solution
The Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has appealed for a permanent settlement of the Kashmir dispute, as fighting in the territory dies down.
In a nationwide address, Mr Sharif said he had diverted a wider war, even a potential nuclear war, by his handling of the crisis.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/392454.stm

Tuesday, 13 July, 1999
Analysis: Searching for a solution
Both India and Pakistan are claiming victory over the agreement to end the fighting in Indian-administered Kashmir.
India says its military might and international pressure forced the Pakistani-backed forces to withdraw from the Indian side of the Line of Control - a supposedly temporary cease-fire line created after previous wars.
Pakistan says the past eight weeks of fighting between the world's two newest nuclear powers have forced the international community to focus on an issue it would have once ignored.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/393236.stm

Tuesday, July 13
Sharif accused of betrayal
The leader of Pakistan's Islamic movement has accused the Pakistani prime minister of betrayal by agreeing to withdraw from the fighting in Kashmir.
Qazi Hussain Ahmad, whose Jamaat-i-Islamic movement claims to have four million supporters, said he did not believe Nawaz Sharif had achieved anything for Pakistan or the Kashmiri people.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/392863.stm

Friday, July 23, 1999
Bhutto: 'I vetoed Kashmir plans'
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has made her sharpest attack yet on the Pakistan government's handling of the conflict in Kashmir, saying she rejected stepping up militant activity because of the risk of war.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/402085.stm

Wednesday, August 11, 1999
Plane attack raises tensions
India and Pakistan have blamed each other for the shooting down of a Pakistani aircraft by India, with the reported loss of all 16 people on board.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/417058.stm

Friday, August 13, 1999
Pakistan calls for outside help
Pakistan has called for international mediation to help end its long-running tension with India.
Pakistani Ambassador to the UN Inam ul Haque "The International Community must take a lead".
Pakistan's new ambassador to the United Nations, Inam ul Haque, called on the international community to take the lead in persuading the two countries to discuss their long-standing disputes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/419200.stm

Saturday, August 14, 1999
Neighbours exchange unhappy birthday wishes
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian President KR Narayanan have used the occasion of their independence anniversaries to accuse each other of belligerence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/420594.stm

Saturday, August 14, 1999
Indian warning over Pakistani 'attacks'
Indian President KR Narayanan has called for vigilance against attack by Pakistan.
Meanwhile, India's security forces are mounting unprecedented security measures ahead of Sunday's nationwide Independence Day celebrations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/420546.stm

Friday, August 20, 1999
Sharif's 'delicate balancing act'
The events unfolding in Pakistan highlight the increasingly unstable nature of of the country's politics.
Earlier this year, Pakistan came perilously close to all-out war with neighbouring India - a conflict, it seems, sparked by a deliberate operation of the Pakistan army to occupy strategic positions inside the Indian half of the divided territory of Kashmir.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/425829.stm

Thursday, September 9, 1999
Analysis: Pakistan's opposition joins forces
When Mr Sharif won a huge majority in elections held about two and a half years ago, the opposition was fragmented and demoralised.
The prime minister moved swiftly to consolidate his hold on power. He successfully confronted the other elements in Pakistan's traditional power structure and soon saw the back of a hostile president, a chief justice of the supreme court with whom he couldn't see eye to eye and an army chief who appeared to act independently of the government.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/443185.stm

Tuesday, October 12, 1999
Pakistan army seizes power
The army in Pakistan has announced the dismissal of the government after seizing control of key installations across the country.
Soldiers surrounded the residence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, closed down the country's main airports and took over state radio and television.
The action followed the dismissal of Pakistan's army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, who is to address the nation shortly.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/472511.stm

Tuesday, October 12, 1999
Pakistan's army and its history of politics
The announcement by Pakistan's army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, that the military had seized power came after several months of rumours of a possible military coup.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/472953.stm

Wednesday, October 13, 1999
Pakistan's generals do it by the book
It was, according to the experts, a "textbook coup d'état".
Within minutes of General Pervez Musharraf being dismissed as chief of Pakistan's military, his troops had launched their takeover.
As with any coup, their aim was to seize power suddenly, forcibly and illegally from the existing civilian government.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/473915.stm

Wednesday, October 13, 1999
Pakistan's coup: Why the army acted
Less than four months after visiting the Kashmir front and congratulating the head of the army General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif finds himself deposed by the same man.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/473297.stm

Thursday, October 14
'Plot to kill' coup leader
The Pakistani army has said it had discovered a plot to kill its leader, General Pervez Musharraf, shortly before the coup on Tuesday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/475429.stm

Thursday, October 14, 1999
Text of Musharraf's declaration
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/475415.stm

Thursday, October 14, 1999
Pakistan's economic nightmare
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/473661.stm

Friday, October 15, 1999
Pakistan declares state of emergency
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/475354.stm

Wednesday, October 20, 1999
Sharif's party in disarray
As soon as the military seized power last week, the deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz were immediately taken into custody.
Since then, their whereabouts are not known, but it is widely believed that they are being kept in detention at an army guest house somewhere in the city of Rawalpindi.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/480410.stm

Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Sharif charged with murder plot
Pakistan's new military rulers have accused ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and eight others of conspiracy to murder and kidnapping - charges which carry the death penalty.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/515047.stm

Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Sharif's party goes to court
The party of deposed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is to challenge the suspension of the country's constitution in the Supreme Court.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/514426.stm

Thursday, November 11, 1999
Pakistan's coup: The 17-hour victory
It took Pakistan's military only 17 hours to carry out a devastating military coup.
But it could have unravelled in less than an hour as the man at the centre of the overthrow sat in a plane circling above Karachi, battling to land before the plane ran out of fuel.

But Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's failure to stop General Pervez Musharraf from uniting the army showed how well prepared the military had been to defend their high command and take on the civilian government.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/475195.stm

Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Pakistan cracks down on defaulters
Pakistan's new military government has begun arresting former politicans and business leaders after they failed to meet a deadline by which to repay bank loans.
Five people have been arrested in Islamabad, including a former cabinet minister in the government of Benazir Bhutto.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/524229.stm

Friday, 19 November, 1999
Sharif: I'm innocent
Pakistan's ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has made his first court appearance since the military takeover last month.
Amid tight security at the court in Karachi, he strongly denied the accusations against him, of conspiracy to murder, kidnapping and plane hijacking.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/527625.stm

2000

Thursday, 20 January, 2000
India and US to counter terrorism
India and the United States have agreed to establish a joint working group to counter terrorism after high-level talks in London.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/608799.stm

Wednesday, 2 February, 2000
Clinton to visit India
US President Bill Clinton is to make an historic state visit to India next month - the first by an American president for 22 years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/627095.stm

Thursday, 3 February, 2000
Pakistan urges Clinton visit
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/629043.stm

Wednesday, 16 February
Intense lobbying over Clinton visit
As United States President Bill Clinton deliberates whether or not to visit Pakistan as part of his tour of South Asia next month, lobby firms in Washington are jostling frantically to influence his decision.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/645396.stm

Friday, 25 February, 2000
India warns Clinton against Pakistan visit
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/656091.stm

Wednesday, 15 March, 2000
Pakistan nukes put online
US policy group has published satellite photographs said to show Pakistan's nuclear facilities on its website, just days ahead of President Clinton's visit to the region.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/678163.stm

Friday, 7 July, 2000
Mass arrest of Sharif supporters
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/823012.stm

Saturday, 22 July, 2000
Sharif convicted of corruption
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/845490.stm

Wednesday, 9 August, 2000
Politics ban for Sharif and Bhutto
Two former prime ministers of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, have been barred from active politics under a new law.
In a significant change by Pakistan's military rulers to the rules governing political parties, no person with a court conviction can hold party office.
The ousted Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has been convicted of corruption and is also serving a life sentence for hijacking and terrorism. Benazir Bhutto is living in exile and faces a five-year prison sentence after being found guilty of corruption last year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/873070.stm

Friday, 20 October, 2000
Ex US soldier admits embassy bombings
A former US Army sergeant has admitted involvement in the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa in which 224 people were killed, 12 of them Americans.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/982069.stm

Monday, 11 December, 2000
Profile: Nawaz Sharif
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/472836.stm

2001

Wednesday, 3 January, 2001
Embassy bombings trial begins
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1098460.stm

Tuesday, 29 May, 2001
US embassy bombing four convicted
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1358141.stm

Monday, 24 September, 2001
Profile: General Pervez Musharraf
President Pervez Musharraf is facing his gravest test as ruler of Pakistan since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/472997.stm

Some related info:
Timeline: Pakistan
A chronology of key events
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1156716.stm

Country profile: India
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1154019.stm

[seemslikeadream]

1. Excellent mogster

:hi:

[mogster]

2. Thank you, SLaD

:hi:

[blm]

10. Knew you would get this....

It really is something, eh, seems? We have been sounding the alarms for so long and few will listen....even now.

[mogster]

3. Self-kick n/t

[blm]

4. Well done - but, sadly it tracks back even further to BCCI and its continuing agenda.

None of this should be happening today.

[mogster]

5. That's a good point

Do you have some material on the BCCI that's good besides wikipedia? I remember hearing John Kerry was involved in the investigation into this bank back in the 90's.

[blm]

6. Posted this earlier on a Pakistan thread....

The BEST chance this nation had of preventing Bush2, 9-11, this Iraq war, future war with Iran, and today's chaos in Pakistan was by following up on the outstanding matters listed in that Dec 1992 BCCI report.

BushInc was at its weakest point and at its most exposed when this report came out - how did they end up becoming stronger throughout the 90s along with the global terror networks they had been protecting and funding?

I hope more people are now able to understand why some of us have been keying on Pakistan, BCCI and the network of Poppy's industrialist friends and financiers who profited from the continuing secrecy and privilege that was protected for so long.


Matters For Further Investigation

There have been a number of matters which the Subcommittee has received some information on, but has not been able to investigate adequately, due such factors as lack of resources, lack of time, documents being withheld by foreign governments, and limited evidentiary sources or witnesses. Some of the main areas which deserve further investigation include:

1. The extent of BCCI's involvement in Pakistan's nuclear program. As set forth in the chapter on BCCI in foreign countries, there is good reason to conclude that BCCI did finance Pakistan's nuclear program through the BCCI Foundation in Pakistan, as well as through BCCI-Canada in the Parvez case. However, details on BCCI's involvement remain unavailable. Further investigation is needed to understand the extent to which BCCI and Pakistan were able to evade U.S. and international nuclear non-proliferation regimes to acquire nuclear technologies.

2. BCCI's manipulation of commodities and securities markets in Europe and Canada. The Subcommittee has received information that remains not fully substantiated that BCCI defrauded investors, as well as some major U.S. and European financial firms, through manipulating commodities and securities markets, especially in Canada, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. This alleged fraud requires further investigation in those countries.

3. BCCI's activities in India, including its relationship with the business empire of the Hinduja family. The Subcommittee has not had access to BCCI records regarding India. The substantial lending by BCCI to the Indian industrialist family, the Hindujas, reported in press accounts, deserves further scrutiny, as do the press reports concerning alleged kick-backs and bribes to Indian officials.

4. BCCI's relationships with convicted Iraqi arms dealer Sarkis Soghanalian, Syrian drug trafficker, terrorist, and arms trafficker Monzer Al-Kassar, and other major arms dealers. Sarkenalian was a principal seller of arms to Iraq. Monzer Al-Kassar has been implicated in terrorist bombings in connection with terrorist organizations such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Other arms dealers, including some who provided machine guns and trained Medellin cartel death squads, also used BCCI. Tracing their assets through the bank would likely lead to important information concerning international terrorist and arms trafficker networks.

5. The use of BCCI by central figures in arms sales to Iran during the 1980's. The late Cyrus Hashemi, a key figure in allegations concerning an alleged deal involving the return of U.S. hostages from Iran in 1980, banked at BCCI London. His records have been withheld from disclosure to the Subcommittee by a British judge. Their release might aid in reaching judgments concerning Hashemi's activities in 1980, with the CIA under President Carter and allegedly with William Casey.

6. BCCI's activities with the Central Bank of Syria and with the Foreign Trade Mission of the Soviet Union in London. BCCI was used by both the Syrian and Soviet governments in the period in which each was involved in supporting activities hostile to the United States. Obtaining the records of those financial transactions would be critical to understanding what the Soviet Union under Brezhnev, Chernenko, and Andropov was doing in the West; and might document the nature and extent of Syria's support for international terrorism.

7. BCCI's involvement with foreign intelligence agencies. A British source has told the Bank of England and British investigators that BCCI was used by numerous foreign intelligence agencies in the United Kingdom. The British intelligence service, the MI-5, has sealed documents from BCCI's records in the UK which could shed light on this allegation.

8. The financial dealings of BCCI directors with Charles Keating and several Keating affiliates and front-companies, including the possibility that BCCI related entities may have laundered funds for Keating to move them outside the United States. The Subcommittee found numerous connections among Keating and BCCI-related persons and entities, such as BCCI director Alfred Hartman; CenTrust chief David Paul and CenTrust itself; Capcom front-man Lawrence Romrell; BCCI shipping affiliate, the Gokal group and the Gokal family; and possibly Ghaith Pharaon. The ties between BCCI and Keating's financial empire require further investigation.

9. BCCI's financing of commodities and other business dealings of international criminal financier Marc Rich. Marc Rich remains the most important figure in the international commodities markets, and remains a fugitive from the United States following his indictment on securities fraud. BCCI lending to Rich in the 1980's amounted to tens of millions of dollars. Moreover, Rich's commodities firms were used by BCCI in connection with BCCI's involving in U.S. guarantee programs through the Department of Agriculture. The nature and extent of Rich's relationship with BCCI requires further investigation.

10. The nature, extent and meaning of the ownership of shares of other U.S. financial institutions by Middle Eastern political figures. Political figures and members of the ruling family of various Middle Eastern countries have very substantial investments in the United States, in some cases, owning substantial shares of major U.S. banks. Given BCCI's routine use of nominees from the Middle East, and the pervasive practice of using nominees within the Middle East, further investigation may be warranted of Middle Eastern ownership of domestic U.S. financial institutions.

11. The nature, extent, and meaning of real estate and financial investments in the United States by major shareholders of BCCI. BCCI's shareholders and front-men have made substantial investments in real estate throughout the United States, owning major office buildings in such key cities as New York and Washington, D.C. Given BCCI's pervasiveness criminality, and the role of these shareholders and front-men in the BCCI affair, a complete review of their holdings in the United States is warranted.

12. BCCI's collusion in Savings & Loan fraud in the U.S. The Subcommittee found ties between BCCI and two failed Savings and Loan institutions, CenTrust, which BCCI came to have a controlling interest in, and Caprock Savings and Loan in Texas, and as noted above, the involvement of BCCI figures with Charles Keating and his business empire. In each case, BCCI's involvement cost the U. S. taxpayers money. A comprehensive review of BCCI's account holders in the U.S. and globally might well reveal additional such cases. In addition, the issue of whether David Paul and CenTrust's political relationships were used by Paul on behalf of BCCI merits further investigation.

13. The sale of BCCI affiliate Banque de Commerce et de Placements (BCP) in Geneva, to the Cukorova Group of Turkey, which owned an entity involved in the BNL Iraqi arms sales, among others. Given BNL's links to BCCI, and Cukorova Groups' involvement through its subsidiary, Entrade, with BNL in the sales to Iraq, the swift sale of BCP to Cukorova just weeks after BCCI's closure -- prior to due diligence being conducted -- raises questions as to whether a prior relationship existed between BCCI and Cukorova, and Cukorova's intentions in making the purchase. Within the past year, Cukorova also applied to purchase a New York bank. Cukorova's actions pertaining to BCP require further investigation in Switzerland by Swiss authorities, and by the Federal Reserve New York.

14. BCCI's role in China. As noted in the chapter on BCCI's activities in foreign countries, BCCI had extensive activity in China, and the Chinese government allegedly lost $500 million when BCCI closed, mostly from government accounts. While there have been allegations that bribes and pay-offs were involved, these allegations require further investigation and detail to determine what actually happened, and who was involved.

15. The relationship between Capcom and BCCI, between Capcom and the intelligence community, and between Capcom's shareholders and U.S. telecommunications industry figures. The Subcommittee was able to interview people and review documents concerning Capcom that no other investigators had to date interviewed or reviewed. Much more needs to be done to understand what Capcom was doing in the United States, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Oman, and the Middle East, including whether the firm was, as has been alleged but not proven, used by the intelligence community to move funds for intelligence operations; and whether any person involved with Capcom was seeking secretly to acquire interests in the U.S. telecommunications industry.

16. The relationship of important BCCI figures and important intelligence figures to the collapse of the Hong Kong Deposit and Guaranty Bank and Tetra Finance (HK) in 1983. The circumstances surrounding the collpase of these two Hong Kong banks; the Hong Kong banks' practices of using nominees, front-companies, and back-to-back financial transactions; the Hong Banks' directors having included several important BCCI figures, including Ghanim Al Mazrui, and a close associate of then CIA director William Casey; all raise the question of whether there was a relationship between these two institutions and BCCI-Hong Kong, and whether the two Hong Kong institutions were used for domestic or foreign intelligence operations.

17. BCCI's activities in Atlanta and its acquisition of the National Bank of Georgia through First American. Although the Justice Department indictments of Clark Clifford and Robert Altman cover portions of how BCCI acquired National Bank of Georgia, other important allegations regarding the possible involvement of political figures in Georgia in BCCI's activities there remain outside the indictment. These allegations, as well as the underlying facts regarding BCCI's activities in Georgia, require further investigation.

18. The relationship between BCCI and the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. BCCI and the Atlanta Branch of BNL had an extensive relationship in the United States, with the Atlanta Branch of BNL having a substantial number of accounts in BCCI's Miami offices. BNL was, according to federal indictments, a significant financial conduit for weapons to Iraq. BCCI also made loans to Iraq, although of a substantially smaller nature. Given the criminality of both institutions, and their interlocking activities, further investigation of the relationship could produce further understanding of Saddam Hussein's international network for acquiring weapons, and how Iraq evaded governmental restrictions on such weapons acquisitions.

19. The alleged relationship between the late CIA director William Casey and BCCI. As set forth in the chapter on intelligence, numerous trails lead from BCCI to Casey, and from Casey to BCCI, and the investigation has been unable to follow any of them to the end to determine whether there was indeed a relationship, and if there was, its nature and extent. If any such relationship existed, it could have a significant impact on the findings and conclusions concerning the CIA and BCCI's role in U.S. foreign policy and intelligence operations during the Casey era. The investigation's work detailing the ties of BCCI to the intelligence community generally also remains far from complete, and much about these ties remains obscure and in need of further investigation.

20. Money laundering by other major international banks. Numerous BCCI officials told the Subcommittee that BCCI's money laundering was no different from activities they observed at other international banks, and provided the names of a number of prominent U.S. and European banks which they alleged engaged in money laundering. There is no question that BCCI's laundering of drug money, while pervading the institution, constituted a small component of the total money laundering taking place in international banking. Further investigation to determine which international banks are soliciting and handling drug money should be undertaken.

[mogster]

7. Thanks

For taking the time.

I may do a follow up on this back home, about the BCCI scandal. I don't think these facts are known to most people here.
Thanks again.

[blm]

9. It's a shame because everything happening today is rooted deeply in BCCI

an operation that continues, no matter how much perception management claims otherwise.

[malaise]

8. Great post

Kick