The
government wants completion of the probe into the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto by the Scotland
Yard before the Feb 18 parliamentary elections for its own reasons.
Caretaker Interior Minister Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz confirmed this to The News and said when the British team had landed in Pakistan, the
government had conveyed its desire to it that it wanted the conclusion of the
investigation before the polls.
The team told the government that it would take two weeks to do its job. “We asked them to take as much time as they want, so that they have a free hand to do their assignment,” the minister said.
The Scotland Yard detectives arrived in Pakistan from Britain in recently. After doing investigation for a few weeks, they went back to Britain for the scrutiny of the evidence they had collected.
Hamid Nawaz said the British detectives would not give any independent report rather its investigation would be a part of the probe being carried out by a high-powered team of Pakistan. “It will include their input as well.”
“The investigation is entirely Pakistan’s responsibility,” he said, adding that the UK team had also been asked to look into the cause of death of Ms Bhutto. The number of British investigators would continue to vary. A five-member team had originally arrived. One of them had gone back with the footage of the assassination. Later, another six detectives came to Pakistan, raising the number to 10.
The UK team, Hamid Nawaz said, had conveyed its desire to meet all the people, who were present in Ms Bhutto’s vehicle on the day of her slaying. He said he believed that when the team had met Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Zardari in Karachi, Sherry Rehman and Makhdoom Amin, who were with the Ms Bhutto at the time, were also present there.
The minister said the British detectives would be meeting Maj (retd) Imtiaz, the chief security officer of Ms Bhutto, belonging to police, who was also in her vehicle on the fateful day. Hamid Nawaz said the UK team had got the permission of Zardari to meet all these people and ask different questions for the probe. The PPP leader, who had given his own evidence to the panel of detectives, he said, had assured that they would cooperate with it.
It is believed that the government wants the probe by the Scotland Yard before the elections so that the major case, which has its own importance and impact on the polls, stood resolved, and no political party including the PPP could take political mileage out of it.
The government felt relieved over the American CIA chief’s recent statement that Ms Bhutto was assassinated by al-Qaeda and militant tribal commander Baitullah Mehsud. This had reinforced Pakistan’s stand that it took from day one on the high-profile murder.