Bhutto supporters call for UN probe

Supporters of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto insisted today that a UN probe was the only way to reveal the truth behind her murder.

They dismissed a government announcement that Scotland Yard anti-terror officers would help in the investigation.

Opposition parties also criticised the government’s decision to delay parliamentary elections until February 18 – a six-week delay prompted by the rioting that followed Ms Bhutto’s death. But they said they still plan to take part in the elections, seen as a key step in bringing democracy to Pakistan after years of military rule.

“The regime has lost all credibility. Neither a domestic inquiry nor vague foreign involvement ... would lay to rest the lingering doubts and suspicions,” said Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party.

President Pervez Musharraf announced yesterday that police officers from London will help investigate the assassination.

The government initially said it did not need foreign help to probe the killing.

His reversal could ease pressure for an independent, international investigation into both how she died and whether the government covered it up.

Scotland Yard said it was sending a small team of officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counterterrorism Command.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the team would leave Britain by the end of the week.