Pakistan Govt: 'We have evidence al-Qaida killed Bhutto'

Al-Qaida and the Taliban were behind the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan insisted today.

“We have the evidence that al-Qaida and Taliban were behind the suicide attack on Benazir Bhutto,” Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said.

The government recorded an “intelligence intercept” in which militant leader Baitullah Mehsud “congratulated his people for carrying out this cowardly act,” a spokesman said.

Mehsud is regarded as the commander of pro-Taliban forces in the lawless Pakistani tribal region South Waziristan, where al-Qaida is also active.