Islamabad, July 17: Pakistan approached the United Nations to probe the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto as it wants to uncover the conspiracy to “balkanise” the country, president Asif Ali Zardari said yesterday.
“We approached the UN because, firstly, we wanted transparent and above-board investigations so that there are no accusations of bias,” Zardari told the three-member UN commission of inquiry probing the facts and circumstances of his wife’s murder.
“We also wanted to unearth any conspiracy to balkanise Pakistan and let the world know how a democratic leader heroically laid down her life to foil the designs against the country and thereby to honour her internationally,” he said.
Zardari said the conspirators “planned to postpone [the February 2008] elections indefinitely and provoke the Pakistan People’s Party into taking to the streets… to hasten the process of balkanisation”.
But the PPP decided to seek revenge in a different way as its new co-chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, declared “democracy is the best revenge”, he said.
“We have also carried out our own investigations and the findings will be made available to the UN investigators,” he said.
Zardari said the commission was faced with a “challenging and onerous” task. Bhutto’s three children — Bilawal, Bakhtwar, and Aseefa — were present during his meeting with the commission, which began its first visit to the country yesterday.
The commission will be accorded immunities for an independent inquiry, including unhindered access to all relevant sources of information, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.
Earlier, the commission was briefed by a team of the interior ministry on its own investigation into Bhutto’s killing.
The commission headed by ambassador Heraldo Munoz of Chile also met interior minister Rehman Malik, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and minister of state for law Muhammad Afzal Sindhu.
The commission is “committed to assisting Pakistan by doing its utmost to determine the facts and circumstances of [Bhutto’s] death”, a statement issued by the UN said.
The commission is supported by a core team of experienced staff members who will be based regularly in Pakistan. The staff will gather and collate information and conduct interviews.
The commission’s mandate was decided by the UN in consultation with the Pakistani government. The UN has made it clear that the panel’s mandate does not include the conduct of a criminal investigation.
The responsibility for any criminal investigation and prosecution of perpetrators remains with the Pakistani authorities. The final report on the commission’s findings will be presented to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon within six months, by the end of December.
The secretary-general will share the report with the Pakistani government and submit it to the UN Security Council for information.
The government has made strict security arrangements for the commission and a large police contingent has been deployed to protect its members.
Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack shortly after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007.
–Agencies