KARACHI, Jan 27: The Pakistan People’s Party is recording statements of its leaders and workers who were inside or close to the vehicle of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto when she was assassinated.

Sources said the exercise was being conducted covertly at the request of the Scotland Yard team helping in the investigation into the assassination.

They said the PPP would hand over the statements to the team on its return to the country.

The sources told Dawn that the team, which met PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi on Jan 15, had told the party leadership that it wanted to examine all the workers and leaders who were in the vehicle or close to it at the time of the attack.

They said the PPP leadership had agreed to the request but sought time to provide the British investigators with statements of all relevant leaders and workers.

They said Senator Farooq H. Naek, the party’s legal adviser, was preparing the statements. The statements of the party’s vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Naheed Khan, Dr Safdar Abbasi, Ms Bhutto’s bodyguard Khalid Shehnshah (who were in the vehicle) and some others had been recorded.

However, Senator Naek, when contacted, refused to comment.

“I do not want to go in public with regard to a confidential matter with my client.”