''In terms of the investigation itself by Scotland Yard, we view this as a credible investigation by independent, outside experts,'' State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. ''We don't have any reason why we would question the validity of their assessment,'' he added.
Slain former premier Benazir Bhutto's daughter Bakhtawar has said she wants to serve the people of Pakistan like her mother but was not sure if she wanted to join politics. eventeen-year-old Bakhtawar, who is at school in Dubai, said those who killed her mother feared her mission. She pledged to continue the mission of her mother, who was assassinated in December last year.
"Pakistan's investigation into Bhutto's murder lacks independence, transparency and credibility," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Scotland Yard should never have agreed to only investigate the cause of death, instead of who was responsible. It should not tarnish its reputation by lending its imprimatur to this dubious inquiry."
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has ruled that the government does not need permission from any authority to make public the findings of the probe into the Benazir Bhutto assassination case or judicial proceedings against those accused of involvement in her murder.
Gunmen riding a motorcycle fired at the car of Federal Investigation Agency prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfizar Ali in the busy commercial area of Karachi Company at 7.30 am.
Akhtar, who is linked to Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and was head of the outlawed Harkatul Jihad al-Islami, fought along with the mujahideen during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. He also trained Jehadi fighters who were sent to Jammu and Kashmir during the 1990s.
Dr Singh said Bhutto's contributions to a previous moment of hope in India-Pakistan relations and her intent to break the relations out of the sterile patterns of the past were 'exemplary.'
Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto has received a death threat from female suicide bombers, one of her close aides said on Tuesday.
Born on June 21, 1953, into a wealthy landowning family in southern Pakistan, the mother of three children inherited the heavy political legacy of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was hanged by Gen Zia in 1979.
The Pakistan government has said that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto will convey her final plan of return to the country on Tuesday. The government has been asking the Pakistan People's Party chief, who is living in a self-imposed exile, to delay her return scheduled for October 18. A minister clarified that the government has no intention to block her on return as a better understanding already existed between the PPP and the government.
The deputy spokesman was non-committal on the US's position on whether Musharraf should step down from his army post.
Undeterred by the government's ban on public meetings under emergency rule, former premier Benazir Bhutto-led Pakistan People's Party on Wednesday vowed to go ahead with a planned rally in the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi on Friday.
Bhutto says she is the only alternative in the country between the Musharraf dictatorship and the religious fundamentalists.
"I say this because he is a man of courage and honour. He spent 11 years in prison without bending despite torture. He has the political stature to keep our party united," she said in the hand-written letter described by the PPP as Bhutto's political will, which was released to the media in Islamabad on Tuesday.
A week before Pakistanis vote in the parliamentary elections, the "vast majority" -- 75 percent -- want President Pervez Musharraf to leave office, with his approval rating touching a new low of 15 per cent, the Washington Post reported.
Boucher said the Bush administration was satisfied with investigations carried out by Pakistani authorities along with the Scotland Yard.
The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy in Islamabad asked the government to discuss all initiatives to improve ties with India in Parliament and not to bypass it.
The three-member international commission that the United Nations plans to appoint to probe the assassination of former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto will be a fact-finding panel and will not carry out any criminal investigation. In a letter to the Security Council released on Thursday, Secretary-General Ban ki Moon said the life of the commission will be of six months. "You will note that the commission's mandate would be of a limited duration (a maximum of six months).
The Election Commission of Pakistan stripped Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, of its electoral symbol -- a cricket bat -- on technical grounds on Sunday January 14, 2024.
Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stayed away from the country as his mother and former premier Benazir's death anniversary was observed on Saturday across the country, giving credence to reports that he is having serious differences with his father Asif Ali Zardari.
Britain's Scotland Yard, which probed the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, on Friday handed over a report on its findings to the Pakistani police. Officials said that the head of a three-member team of British detectives, which arrived in Islamabad on Thursday, handed over the report to senior Pakistani police officials.
The Scotland Yard team spent a little more than two weeks in the country, during which the they visited the site at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi where Bhutto was attacked, reviewed forensic and technical evidence and questioned eyewitnesses and doctors who treated her. They also reconstructed the attack on Bhutto several times.
The suicide bomber who tried to assassinate former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto had tried to break through her security cordon by bringing a box of cotton buds that she had requested, but was turned away twice.
Former president Pervez Musharraf, currently living in self-exile in Britain and Dubai, will be arrested whenever he returns to Pakistan, Punjab Governor Latif Khosa has said.
The formal trial of former Pakistani former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in connection with the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto began on Tuesday.
Bilawal Bhutto's political inheritance is his biggest asset as well as the biggest liability as he tries to make his mark in Pakistan politics. Challenging the Taliban militants is part of that strategy, though it matches with his political ideology. Shahzad Raza profiles the son of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.
The Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party which won the third largest number of seats in the National Assembly in the elections appears to be split on whether to join a coalition government or sit on Opposition benches.
In a historic decision, Pakistan President Asif Zardari has decided to formally recognise his 31-year-old daughter Aseefa Bhutto as the First Lady of the country, according to a media report.
Cricket Australia said it has no plans to cancel the tour of Pakistan in March despite the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto but will monitor the security situation there before it goes ahead.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan on Tuesday said slain former premier Benazir Bhutto had faced a threat from the Taliban and al-Qaeda because she had pledged to take action against the two groups but there is no similar danger to him.
Imran Khan, who underwent surgery for bullet injuries, has been discharged from hospital.
Bilawal has said the reality is that his party does not have a mandate to form a federal government.
Pakistan's Australian coach said he is awaiting feedback on the situation there before deciding on returning to Lahore after his Christmas holiday.
Religious extremist elements are having a grouse against America since 9/11 and since Americans invaded Afghanistan. In addition, from 1979 to 2001 it was Pakistan's State policy to support religious fundamentalist elements. Now, it is high time for the moderates to unite
Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that the office of President of Pakistan was the 'right' of his party and the Sindh province. He added that a dedicated worker of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto's party would soon be installed at the post.''I know it very well that there are some remnants of dictatorship, who want to destabilise the coalition government,'' he said without naming President Pervez Musharraf and his political allies.
The husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was freed Monday amidst rumours of a deal with the Army regime.
Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had expressed doubts about a claim by the regime of his former boss Pervez Musharraf that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by the Pakistani Taliban, a United Nations investigator has said.
Bhutto, the Pakistan Peoples Party chief and a two-time prime minister, was killed along with more than 20 people in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh during an election campaign rally on December 27, 2007. She was 54.
Former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Tuesday indicted by an anti-terrorism court in the 2007 assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto.
Fatima says she has no political ambitions and is unlikely to overshadow Bilawal, her now famous cousin, anytime soon. "I am political through my writing. I have no interest in parliamentary politics for now. I'm too young. There's a lot to learn," she said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances