ISLAMABAD, Jan 8: The detective who solved the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl has joined the probe into the killing of Benazir Bhutto, officials said on Tuesday.

Zubair Mahmood will work with a team of British detectives investigating the December 27 assassination of Ms Bhutto, which plunged the country into turmoil and forced the postponement of key elections, they said.

“He has joined the investigation and will coordinate with the Scotland Yard team,” a senior government official told AFP. An interior ministry official said the detective’s experience in handling high-profile cases would be invaluable.

Mr Zubair, director of the Federal Investigation Agency in Karachi, was the lead investigator credited with unearthing the gang of militants who planned and carried out the killing of Mr Pearl.

He was also sent to the West Indies last year to assist Jamaican police investigating the death of Pakistan cricket team coach Bob Woolmer.

“Zubair, who is joining the investigation team, is a vastly experienced police officer,” interior ministry spokesman Brig (Retd) Javed Cheema told AFP.

Mr Zubair’s role in the Pearl murder probe featured heavily in the 2007 film “A Mighty Heart,” based on the book of the same name by Mariane Pearl, the journalist’s widow.—AFP