January 04, 2008	Friday	Zilhaj 24, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday rejected President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to seek assistance of Scotland Yard for probing into the assassination of its chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

“We will only accept investigation of the tragic incident by international experts if it is conducted under the auspices of the United Nations,” said PPP leader Senator Babar Awan.

He accused the government of ‘protecting’ the killers and termed it ‘a shameful approach’.

He said the UN had already announced that it would give positive response to Pakistan if it asked the world body to assist it in investigating the assassination of Ms Bhutto.

“According to the spokesman of the UN secretary general, the government has so far not asked the UN for help in this regard,” he added.

President Musharraf in his address to the nation on Wednesday said he had requested the British government to send a team of Scotland Yard which would assist local investigators in the case.

However, the PPP has been demanding the investigation should be conducted under the auspices of the UN.

“It will not be the first time Scotland Yard has come to the help of Pakistan after an assassination.”

Reportedly, Pakistan had in 1951 asked the UK for help after the country’s first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan was shot dead in what was then called the Company Bagh in Rawalpindi. The park was later renamed Liaquat Bagh in his honour.

The parallells between 1951 and December 2007 go beyond location. After Mr Khan’s death, many opposition leaders said outside investigators were needed because they believed some government officials were themselves involved in the murder conspiracy.

As in the case of Ms Bhutto, the government back in 1951 initially rejected outside help before agreeing that an expert from Scotland Yard come to Pakistan. But for reasons never disclosed, the British investigator was asked to leave Pakistan only a few weeks into his investigations.

The Pakistani authorities never revealed anything about the investigation.

In September 1996, when Murtaza Bhutto was killed outside his home in Karachi the demand for help from Scotland Yard was again heard in the country.

Talking about the aftermath of Ms Bhutto murder, Mr Awan said the government had made 4,500 ‘fake’ cases against 200,000 party workers in Sindh province.

He said the names of all PPP candidates contesting elections and workers at the ward level had been nominated in the FIRs. “These FIRs were lodged by political opponents of the PPP which is a part of grand rigging in forthcoming elections,” he added.

He appealed to the international community to force the rulers to ensure holding of elections on February 18 because the government seemed to be reluctant in holding the polls even on the re-scheduled date.

He also criticised the role of Supreme Court after the murder of Ms Bhutto, saying it was the only institution of the country which remained silent on her assassination.