December 29, 2007	Saturday	Zilhaj 18, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: Pakis-tan People’s Party rejected on Friday the inquiry being conducted by the interior ministry into the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and demanded of the United Nations and international community to force the government to let foreign experts investigate the tragic incident.

“The fate of inquiry into Ms Bhutto’s assassination should not be similar to the one conducted into the assassination of former prime ministers Liaquat Ali Khan and Zufikar Ali Bhutto,” PPP leader Babar Awan said after offering funeral prayers of Ms Bhutto in absentia in front of the Parliament House.

“We want head of the killer and those involved in her assassination. Being a lawyer of Ms Bhutto and the PPP, I reject the investigation,” the PPP leader said. He said lovers of Ms Bhutto could never accept the target killing of their beloved leader.

“Therefore, we want an inquiry to be conducted by international forensic experts,” he added.

The PPP condemned arrangements made for Ms Bhutto’s security at Liaquat Bagh.

“There were no jammers around her and the entire security provided to Ms Bhutto consisted of a Deputy Superintendent of Police and three other policemen,” Mr Awan said.

He described the incident as target killing and said that those who killed former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto were also behind the death of his daughter.

However, interior ministry spokesman Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema rejected the PPP leader’s version and said:

“The government was responsible for the security of Ms Bhutto inside Liaquat Bagh, but the incident took place outside it,” he said.

About PPP’s demand for investigation from foreign experts, he said: “Our agencies are capable enough of tracing culprits of these attacks as they have traced successfully many such cases in the recent past.”