Government role in assassination denied

Musharraf says Pakistani security forces not involved, implies Bhutto shared fault

Associated Press

January 4, 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf vehemently denied yesterday that Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies were behind Benazir Bhutto's assassination and implied that she was partly at fault.

Despite threats by militants, Bhutto poked her head out of the sunroof of her vehicle to greet supporters at an election rally, Musharraf said.

He conceded that there were shortcomings in Pakistan's investigation into the assassination but rejected accusations of a lapse in security for the former prime minister.

"The same military and intelligence agencies are using the same people who are attacking them? It's a joke," Musharraf said at a news conference, answering accusations that people connected to his government were involved in the suicide bomb and gun attack that killed Bhutto a week ago.

The president acknowledged that his decision to seek help from Scotland Yard to investigate the killing was partly to reassure people at home and abroad that there was no government involvement. Bhutto had accused elements in the ruling party of plotting to kill her.

"Here's a situation where maybe we need to go beyond ourselves to prove to the world and our people here, who are emotionally charged, that we don't mind going to any extent, as nobody is involved from the government side or the agencies," Musharraf said.

Bhutto's killing plunged an already volatile Pakistan deeper into crisis and stoked fears of a political meltdown.

It triggered an outbreak of rioting that has left nearly 60 dead and caused more than a billion dollars in damage in the worst-hit province of Sindh, authorities say. It also forced a six-week delay in parliamentary elections, seen as key to restoring democracy after eight years of military rule since Musharraf took power in a 1999 coup. The vote is now set for Feb. 18.

The assassination also exposed the skepticism of Pakistan's 160 million people over what their rulers tell them after local news media began broadcasting still frames and video that challenged the government account. Bhutto's husband is demanding a United Nations probe.

Musharraf maintained that Pakistan was capable of managing its own affairs and conducting the investigation, saying it was no "banana republic." But he said the government might have erred in giving a precise cause of death for Bhutto just a day after the Dec. 27 killing even though no autopsy had been conducted.

Musharraf said Bhutto had been told of the militant threats against her. And he denied that a security lapse led to her death, as four mobile units with 30 officers escorted her, and more than 1,000 police were deployed at the Rawalpindi rally where she was slain.