UNITED NATIONS, Jan 7: The United Nations has not received any request from the Pakistani government for help in investigating the “tragic” assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.

Answering questions at his first press conference this year at the UN Headquarters in New York, he pointed out that the British Scotland Yard is already extending technical assistance to Islamabad in the inquiry.

Asked about the demands for a UN investigation from Ms Bhutto’s family, Mr Ki-moon said: “I am not in a position to comment on a request at any private and personal level.” He also declined to comment whether the United Nations should be the organisation to investigate such political assassinations.

So far as establishing special tribunals is concerned, like it had been done over the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, he said it must be based on the request of the government concerned and must be decided by the Security Council and member states of the United Nations.

The United Nations has undertaken the inquiry into the Hariri assassination at the request of the Lebanese government, and it is now in the process of establishing a special tribunal to try the suspects if and when identified.—APP