UNITED NATIONS, Feb 5: The mandate of the UN commission that will probe the 2007 slaying of PPP leader Benazir Bhutto will not exceed six months and will not extend to conducting a criminal investigation, according to a UN letter released on Thursday.

In a letter to the Security Council, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that after extensive discussions with Pakistani authorities and members of the Security Council, “it has been agreed that the international commission should be fact-finding in nature and that its mandate would be to determine the facts and circumstances of the assassination.”

“The duty of determining criminal responsibility of the perpetrators of the assassination would remain with the Pakistani authorities,” the letter said.

The UN secretary general made the announcement on the independent panel on Wednesday at a banquet hosted by President Asif Ali Zardari during his first visit to Pakistan since taking office two years ago.—AFP