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Pakistani Assembly Calls for UN Probe of Bhutto Killing


Pakistani lawmakers have passed a resolution urging the government to seek a UN investigation of the killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The resolution adopted on Monday by Pakistan's lower house of parliament calls for the creation of an international investigation commission.

It says the proposed UN commission should identify the perpetrators of Ms. Bhutto's assassination and bring them to justice.

Ms. Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack last December in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi as she left an election rally.

President Pervez Musharraf has rejected demands by Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party for a UN investigation of the killing.

But, the president's political position weakened in February when his allies were defeated in parliamentary elections. Ms. Bhutto's PPP now leads a coalition government dominated by opponents of Mr. Musharraf.

Earlier this year, Mr. Musharraf ordered Pakistani authorities to investigate the Bhutto assassination with the help of British police. The investigators concluded Ms. Bhutto was killed by the force of a suicide blast and not by gunfire.

Mr. Musharraf's previous government and the US Central Intelligence Agency blamed the assassination on Baitullah Mehsud, an al-Qaida-linked commander based on the Pakistani-Afghan border. Mehsud has denied involvement.

Many opponents of Mr. Musharraf suspect rogue elements of the Pakistani intelligence agencies were involved in the assassination.

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