The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law
Hon. Rauff Hakeem argued that the Easter Sunday attacks require further investigation into alleged links mentioned in the Presidential Commission report, including “Abu Hinde” and “Pakkam Abu,” and called for key witnesses such as Saharan’s wife, Hadiya, to be examined without intimidation. He questioned the role of the Attorney General’s Department in objecting to her evidence and urged the Government to identify and disclose any “deep state” actors referred to by the President. Referring to B Report 35882/24 connected to the Channel 4 matter, he criticized the investigation for charging only a subordinate officer while not proceeding against two others, and demanded that the Government handle the inquiry transparently.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 If you are searching for the masterminds of the Easter Sunday attack, the Presidential Commission report clearly mentions Abu Hinde. There was another Abu linked with Sale—Pakkam Abu. Who is Pakkam Abu? He is an Israeli national. From Israel, this Pakkam Abu gave instructions to Abu Hind. This is in the Presidential Commission report. You can learn about it from Saharan’s wife, Hadiya. She married at 15; if questioned properly, she can state who came and which officials met. But even she is now charged and intimidated not to reveal the facts. When the Presidential Commission chaired by Janaka de Silva sought to call her evidence, the Attorney General’s Department objected. See, it is in the report. The AG’s Department objected. Without examining her publicly, in the end, the Commission ruled that she should be examined. After examination, many matters emerged. I do not have time to go into them.
¶ 02 Briefly: the President has said he will not let this sink into the sands of time and will ensure justice to victims. He said this earlier too at Katuwapitiya. He also said something new: that an investigation is being directed about the State, from outside the State and about the State. What does that mean? He is speaking about the deep state. The deep state is our biggest problem. Who are its actors? Find them; reveal them to the country. Do not hide.
¶ 03 Our Minister today mentioned a case: the “B” Report 35882/24, regarding the Channel 4 issue; you gave an answer. Even today you referred to it. One of the counsel in that case is with me now. What happened? Against whom was the case filed? Three officers went to get the jacket. Of the three, charges were filed only against the subordinate who went; he has a 100 charge, while the other two have nothing. What kind of investigation is this? What are you doing? Do not do this covertly, do not swallow medicine secretly. Is this a government swallowing medicine secretly? Or will you reveal the truth honestly and realistically? That is our question.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 9 July 2025 ·No. 1752660241032216 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 9 July 2025. No. 1752660241032216. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/9372