WASHINGTON, April 17 Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto did not get the protection she deserved, says a senior US official while acknowledging Washington's role in her return to Pakistan.

At a regular briefing on Friday, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley also said that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the presence in Pakistan of Lashkar-e-Taiba and other extremist groups with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani when she met him in Washington earlier this week.

“We encouraged her return. We encouraged Pakistan's return to a civilian government and civilian rule,” said Mr Crowley when asked to comment on a UN report on Ms Bhutto's murder.

“Clearly, tragically, there were failures at a number of levels where she did not have the protection that she deserved and obviously needed,” he added.

Mr Crowley, however, refused to get into details of the UN report, which blamed former ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf for failing to protect Ms Bhutto. “The report speaks for itself,” he said.

Mr Crowley said the United States “cooperated fully” with the UN probe and with an earlier probe conducted by the Scotland Yard.

“The assassination was a tragedy for the people of Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto gave her life in defence of the development of Pakistan's democratic institutions.”

Assessing the current political situation in Pakistan, Mr Crowley said “We will continue to work with Pakistan to make sure that we build the institutions of democracy going forward and help them defend them as well.”

Asked if there was a lack of advice from Washington which led to her death, Mr Crowley said “Well, again, I don't want to get into the particulars of the report.” The State Department official also refused to say if he found anything new in the UN report.

LASHKAR-E-TAIBA Responding to an allegation by a journalist that the Pakistan Army and its intelligence services had retained their links to Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Taliban, Mr Crowley said “We are, of course, concerned about the presence of extremist groups in countries of South Asia regardless of where they are.”

This had been a part of America's ongoing dialogue with Pakistan, and “came up in the discussion that Secretary Clinton had earlier this week with Prime Minister Gilani”, he added.

Mr Crowley said that Pakistan had pledged to continue to cooperate fully with the United States and India in ongoing investigations and in ensuring that those who had perpetrated past crimes were brought to justice.