|
Pakistan refuses foreign help for bhutto probe { November 2007 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071229/bhutto_militants_071229/20071229?hub=CTVNewsAt11http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071229/bhutto_militants_071229/20071229?hub=CTVNewsAt11
Pakistan refuses foreign help for Bhutto probe
Updated Sat. Dec. 29 2007 10:03 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Pakistan's government has refused help from foreign officials in investigating how political figure Benazir Bhutto died, after an official report that she suffered a skull fracture came under criticism.
"This is not an ordinary criminal matter in which we require assistance of the international community. I think we are capable of handling it," Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said Saturday.
According to CTV's Paul Workman, reporting from Pakistan, a local television crew filming Bhutto's final moments recorded a man firing a gun close to Bhutto's SUV.
Sherry Rehman, who was in the same vehicle as Bhutto when the political leader was slain, told CNN that Bhutto was shot.
"I have seen the bullet wound at the back of her head," said Rehman.
"To say that she was concussed from the sunroof is dangerous nonsense. They are absolving themselves of responsibility for providing her better security."
A video released by the government clearly has the sound of at least three shots being fired before the suicide bomber triggered his explosive device.
Several witnesses say they saw Bhutto hit by bullets.
The government claimed Friday that Bhutto died of a skull fracture suffered after a suicide bomber's explosives were detonated. It says that her head struck a lever for her armoured SUV's sunroof.
"It was corroborated by the doctor's report; it was corroborated by the evidence of the footage we showed you," Cheema told reporters.
The government had no objections to Bhutto's body being exhumed to settle the question, he said, but added the facts speak for themselves.
Authorities initially said bullet wounds led to Bhutto's death. A surgeon who treated her blamed her death on shrapnel wounds to her skull.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband offered his country's help in the investigation.
"Obviously it's very important that a full investigation does take place, and has the confidence of all concerned," he told The Associated Press.
Two separate probes have been launched into the killing. President Pervez Musharraf told Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's husband, that the government would make every effort to bring her killers to justice, Pakistan's state-run television reported.
Hillary Clinton, a leading candidate for the U.S. Democrats' presidential nomination, called for such an investigation on Friday. She said there was "no reason to trust the Pakistani government."
Militant denies involvement
A spokesman for a top Islamic militant in Pakistan denied any involvement in the assassination of Bhutto.
"We strongly deny it. Baitullah Mehsud is not involved in the killing of Benazir Bhutto," Maulana Mohammed Umer told The Associated Press in a telephone call from the tribal region of South Waziristan on Saturday.
"The fact is that we are only against America, and we don't consider political leaders of Pakistan our enemy," he said, adding he was speaking on instructions from Mehsud.
Mehsud is the leader of Tehrik-i-Taliban, a coalition of militants who are fighting the Pakistan government.
Officials with Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party say the government is trying to frame Mehsud for Thursday's attack.
"The story that al Qaeda or Baitullah Mehsud did it appears to us to be a planted story, an incorrect story, because they want to divert the attention," said Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for the PPP.
On Friday, Pakistan's government released the transcript of a telephone call that it said linked Mehsud to the killing.
"It was a spectacular job. They were very brave boys who killed her," the transcript quotes Mehsud as saying.
Bhutto's people have said Mehsud told them he had nothing to do with the Oct. 18 attack on Bhutto's welcome-home parade that left more than 140 people dead.
Unrest continues
In Bhutto's home province of Sindh, nine election offices were burned to the ground, said Pakistan's election commission.
The agency is to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to decide whether to proceed with the Jan. 8 election.
The U.S. and Canada have urged Pakistan to press on with the vote.
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party will decide Sunday whether it will participate in the election.
Unrest continues to be reported across Pakistan, with mobs setting fire to various buildings and businesses.
Soldiers are out patrolling several cities, including Karachi, in an attempt to restore order.
At least 44 people have been reported killed in the nation of 162 million as a result of the unrest. Musharraf has told his commanders to deal "firmly" with rioters.
With files from The Associated Press
|
|
