Pakistan money influenced 9/11 Commission report

WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- A former diplomat who was at the Pakistani embassy in Washington two years ago has stated that Pakistan spent large sums of money in an attempt to soften the negative comments about Pakistan in the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States' final report.

The Commission, more familiarly known as the "9-11 Commission," was chaired by former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, and consisted of five Democrats and five Republicans.

The Commission's final report was issued in July 2004.

The Press Trust of India reported on April 10 that Muhammad Sadiq, who was number two at the Pakistani embassy in Washington, testified before Pakistan's Public Accounts Committee of Pakistan that that "a lot" of money had been spent to "silence" members of the 9-11 Commission and persuade them to go "soft" on Pakistan in the report's final draft.

Sadiq told committee members that "dramatic changes" were made in the Commission's final draft of the report after Pakistani lobbyists met with Commission members and persuaded them to remove anti-Pakistan findings.

Sadiq also told the committee that Pakistan won the sympathies of 75 American congressmen as part of its strategy to defend its national interests in the United States.