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A boy holds a picture
of assassinated Pakistani opposition leader
Benazir Bhutto during a demonstration on Dec. 29.
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 29--An Islamic group said on Saturday it had no link to Benazir Bhutto’s killing and the opposition leader’s aides accused the government of a cover-up, disputing the official account of her death.
The government stood firmly by its account of Thursday’s assassination and insisted it needed no foreign help in any investigation, AP reported.
“This is not an ordinary criminal matter in which we require assistance of the international community. I think we are capable of handling it,“ said Interior Ministry Spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema.
Bhutto’s aides said they doubted militant commander Baitullah Mehsud was behind the attack on the opposition leader and said the government’s claim that she died when she hit her head on the sunroof of her vehicle was “dangerous nonsense“.
Cheema said the government’s account was based on “nothing but the facts“.
Iran vehemently condemned the assassination.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a message expressed the deep sympathy of the Iranian nation and government in this regard and said he hoped the Pakistani government would try and track down the culprits behind this crime against Bhutto and a number of innocent people who were present at the scene when a gunman fatally shot her and set off a bomb.
Iran Sends Condolences
He expressed the great sorrow of Iranian nation and government about this tragic event and sympathized with the bereaved family of the late Pakistani politician and the nation and government of Pakistan.
Attackers opened fire at a motorcade of Bhutto’s supporters as they returned to Karachi after her funeral, killing one man and wounding two, said Waqar Mehdi, a spokesman for Bhutto’s party. The government said mass rioting has killed 38 people and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.
In Rawalpindi, thousands of Bhutto supporters spilled onto the streets after a prayer ceremony for her, throwing stones and clashing with police who fired tear gas to try and subdue the crowd.
Pakistan’s election commission called an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss the violence’s impact on Jan. 8 parliamentary elections.
The US government, which sees nuclear-armed Pakistan as a crucial ally in the war on terror, has pushed Musharraf to keep the election on track to promote stability, moderation and democracy in Pakistan, American officials said.
Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro said on Friday the government had no immediate plans to postpone the election, despite the violence and the decision by Nawaz Sharif, another opposition leader, to boycott the poll.
Roads across Bhutto’s southern Sindh province were littered with burning vehicles, smoking reminders of the continuing chaos since her assassination on Thursday.
Factories, stores and restaurants were set ablaze in Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi, where 17 people have been killed and dozens injured, officials said.
The government blamed Bhutto’s killing on Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants operating with increasing impunity in the lawless tribal areas. It released a transcript on Friday of a purported conversation between Mehsud and another militant, apparently discussing the assassination.
“It was a spectacular job. They were very brave boys who killed her,“ Mehsud said, according to the transcript.
Denial
But a spokesman for Mehsud, Maulana Mohammed Umer, denied the militant was involved in the attack and dismissed the allegations as “government propaganda“.
“The fact is that we are only against America, and we don’t consider political leaders of Pakistan our enemy,“ he said in a telephone call he made to AP from the tribal region of South Waziristan, adding that he was speaking on instructions from Mehsud.
Cheema said the government had evidence to back its claim.
“I don’t think anybody has the capability to carry out such suicide attacks except for those people,“ he said.
Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party accused the government of trying to frame Mehsud, saying the militant--through emissaries--had previously told Bhutto he was not involved in the Karachi bombing.
“The story that Al-Qaeda or Baitullah Mehsud did it appears to us to be a planted story, an incorrect story, because they want to divert the attention,“ said Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Bhutto’s party.
After the Karachi attack, Bhutto accused elements in the ruling pro-Musharraf party of plotting to kill her. The government denied the claims.
Babar said Bhutto’s allegations were never investigated.
Bhutto was killed Thursday evening when a suicide attacker shot at her and then blew himself up as she left a rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near Islamabad. The attack killed about 20 others as well. Authorities initially said she died from bullet wounds, and a surgeon who treated her said the impact from shrapnel on her skull killed her.
Bhutto’s spokeswoman Sherry Rehman, who was in the vehicle with her boss, disputed the government’s version.
“To hear that Ms. Bhutto fell from an impact from a bump on a sunroof is absolutely rubbish. It is dangerous nonsense, because it implies there was no assassination attempt,“ she told the BBC.
“There was a clear bullet wound at the back of the neck. It went in one direction and came out another,“ she said. “My entire car is coated with her blood, my clothes, everybody--so she did not concuss her head against the sunroof.“
Key Events in Benazir’s Career
April 4, 1979--Benazir Bhutto’s father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is executed for the murder of a political opponent, two years after his ouster as prime minister in a military coup.
April 10, 1986--Bhutto returns from exile in London to lead the Pakistan People’s Party.
Dec. 1, 1988--Bhutto, age 35, wins parliamentary elections to become the first woman prime minister of a Muslim nation.
Aug. 6, 1990--President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Bhutto’s government, citing corruption and a failure to control ethnic violence.
Oct. 19, 1993--Bhutto takes oath for second term as prime minister.
Nov. 5, 1996--President Farooq Leghari dismisses Bhutto’s second administration amid accusations of nepotism and undermining the justice system.
April 14, 1999--A court finds Bhutto guilty of corruption while she is out of the country. The conviction was later quashed, but Bhutto remains in exile.
Oct. 12--Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the head of the armed forces, seizes power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup.
Oct. 18--Bhutto returns to Pakistan after more than eight years of exile. She narrowly escapes a suicide bombing that kills 140 people during a homecoming procession in Karachi.
Dec. 1--Bhutto launches her election campaign, urging resistance against Islamic militancy.
Dec. 25--Bhutto accuses Gen. Pervez Musharraf of failing to stop the spread of militants and promises to crack down on groups if she wins parliamentary elections.
Dec. 27--An attacker strikes minutes after Bhutto addresses thousands of supporters in Rawalpindi, killed her and 20 others.
