UNITED NATIONS, Aug 25: “No decision has been made so far” by UN Secretary General Banm Ki moon on Pakistan’s request for a International Inquiry Commission to probe the assassination of PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, a UN spokesperson said on Monday.

Asked whether there was credibility in reports that the secretary-general’s advisers have recommended that he refer the matter to the Security Council, Ssokesperson Marie Okabe said no decision has so far been and that consultations were continuing.

“I don’t have anything to say for the public,” she said when asked about the progress on establishing the independent commission which was formally made by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on July 10.

Mr Qureshi told reporters that Ban Ki-Moon had agreed to the request and that further consultation with Pakistan and others within the organisation would take place to “examine the modalities and structure of a commission to determine the circumstances of, and responsibilities for, the assassination of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.”

Mr Qureshi also said that he believed the secretary-general had the authority without the UN Security Council’s approval to set up a commission to try to identify the culprits in Ms Bhutto’s assassination as quickly as possible. “There is no need to refer the request to the Security Council,” he said in response to a question.

Benazir Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, now a candidate for the presidency of Pakistan said in an interview that a United Nations inquiry would go a long way to satisfy people who have no faith in the investigations held earlier by Pakistan government and the British investigators.

He also said that he held former President Pervez Musharraf culpable because he did not provide adequate security for her despite many requests.