President and widower of former premier Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari (R) speaks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting in Islamabad.—AFP/File

UNITED NATIONS The United Nations has received $1.5 million from the government of Pakistan as seed money to partially cover the cost of a three-member fact-finding commission to look into the assassination of former Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, UN Secretary-Generals spokesperson said Friday.

`The money has been received, I can confirm that,` spokesperson Michele Montas said in reply to a question at the regular noon briefing.

However, the UN sources say that the costs of the commission could go as high as $ 5 Milllion or more.

Ms Montas said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also spoke to President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday and among the subjects discussed were matters related to the commission.

The spokesperson said the transfer of money was a `significant` step towards facilitating the work of the commission, which will be headed by Chiles UN Ambassador Haraldo Munoz. But, she said, the commission is yet to be completed.

Indonesias Marzuki Dar Usman will be a member of the commission, but no decision has been made on its third member. He or she will be either from Sweden or Norway.

In a letter to the Security Council last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told the Council `the international commission would be funded by voluntary contributions from Member States. Pakistan has offered to provide `seed money` to an appropriate United Nations trust fund to help an early deployment of the security and technical assessment missions.

The Secretariat is engaged in discussions with Pakistani authorities as to the size and nature of a Pakistani contribution, mindful of the importance of maintaining the independence and impartiality of the commission.

Ms Bhutto was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack on Dec. 27, 2007, as she left an election rally in Rawalpindi.