Governments of Pakistan and Jamaica Co-Operating, Country Safe – Police

Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of crime, Mark Shields, is expressing satisfaction with the level of co-operation between the Governments of Jamaica and Pakistan, in the on-going investigation into the death of Robert ‘Bob’ Woolmer, coach of the Pakistan cricket team.
The senior official of the Jamaica Constabulary Force(JCF) is also giving the assurance that visitors to Jamaica are safe. Speaking with journalists following a formal briefing on Saturday (March 24), at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Deputy Commissioner Shields said, “Jamaica is as safe as anywhere else in the world. All countries have their fair share of crime. Jamaica is a wonderful country with fantastic people and visitors continue to come here and enjoy the beauty of the country, the hospitality of the people and generally have a positive vacation experience.” Meanwhile, the co-operation between the Governments of Pakistan and Jamaica is being described as excellent by representatives of the Government of Pakistan. “The relationship between the governments of Jamaica and Pakistan on this matter can be described as excellent,” Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, First Secretary of the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C., told JIS News at the press briefing. He added that the Government of Pakistan has been kept fully informed and is very appreciative of the co-operative spirit in which the investigation is being pursued. Mr. Chaudhri also has high praise for the professionalism and capacity of the Jamaican police. “We are satisfied with the professionalism of the Jamaican police in carrying out their investigation and we will continue working with the Jamaican authorities,” he told journalists. The First Secretary and Counsellor in Pakistan’s Washington embassy, Shahid Ahmed, arrived in Jamaica on Saturday to liaise with the Jamaican authorities in order to facilitate the on-going investigation. The Pakistani diplomats are here in response to an invitation from the Jamaican Government to the Government of Pakistan extended by Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips. Mr. Chaudhri noted that in the absence of a resident mission in Jamaica, the senior officials from Pakistan’s Washington embassy were instructed by their Government to travel to Jamaica to assist and co-operate in the investigation. “Our purpose here is one of co-operation and to assist in the flow of communication between the governments of Jamaica and Pakistan,” he added. Mr. Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room at the Jamaica Pegasus on Sunday, March 18 and was pronounced dead at hospital after efforts to resuscitate him failed. The official post mortem report from the Government pathologist states that Mr. Woolmer’s death, “was due to asphyxia, as a result of manual strangulation.”