Pak commission on Osama to prepare report by March end

The commission has to record the statements of at least two more witnesses before it can begin compiling its report, The News daily quoted its sources as saying. The commission has already interviewed dozens of officials, including the Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief and top military officers.

The Al-Qaeda chief was killed during a raid by US special forces on a compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad on May 2 last year. The commission`s report will "establish the presence of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad or otherwise", The News reported.

The daily quoted an unnamed member of the commission as saying that the panel`s report would contain a "number of startling revelations". The government is yet to decide if the commission`s report will be made public, the member said.

The two witnesses whose statements are yet to be recorded are important, he said. The commission is headed by former Supreme Court judge Javed Iqbal. The government set up the commission last year after the powerful military establishment faced considerable embarrassment for its failure to detect bin Laden`s presence in Pakistan.