PESHAWAR, Jan 7: The Alliance for the Protection of Human Rights (APHR) has condemned the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

According to a press release issued here, a meeting of the alliance was held on Monday which termed Ms Bhutto’s death a great loss for the country.

The participants offered prayers for the departed soul and paid homage to her.

They questioned the government’s wisdom in washing away the crime scene and expressed concerns over conflicting statements made by the Ministry of Interior spokesman.

They said that an attempt was being made to brew hatred between Pakhtuns and Sindhis and termed the ministry’s releasing of an alleged audiotape of a conversation between two militants in Pushto language as malicious.

They condemned the heavy losses inflicted on the life, property and business of the Pakhtuns in the aftermath of the assassination.

They called upon the government to conduct a transparent investigation into Ms Bhutto’s murder and make its findings public.

They urged it to constitute a commission to probe the rioting in the aftermath of Ms Bhutto’s assassination and assess losses to civilians in tribal areas and Swat and provide them with adequate compensation.

The participants also expressed anger on President Pervez Musharraf’s statement to the foreign media that he was not a tribal or a feudal that killed people, but belonged to a civilised family. “Are all tribals and feudals uncivilized?” they asked.

They expressed concern over rise in human rights violations in the province and loss of innocent civilians in military operations in tribal areas and Swat. They said the government had failed to achieve its objectives through the use of force and must resort to the option of dialogue. They appealed to the warring factions in Kurram Agency to peacefully settle their disputes. They condemned reports in the foreign media that the US was contemplating a military action inside Pakistan and said it would be a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

They alleged that the flour, electricity and gas crises were government ploys to divert the attention of the public from real issues. They condemned Punjab’s policy to end the so called smuggling of flour to the NWFP.