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New video of Bhutto's death
31/12/2007 11:29 - (SA)
Islamabad - The party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto demanded that crucial January 8 elections be held on schedule, while video footage of her assassination raised new questions on Monday about the government's version of how she died.
Disagreement over whether Bhutto was fatally shot or died as a result of the explosion undermined confidence in the US-backed government and adding to calls for international investigators to probe the killing, which thrust this nuclear-armed Muslim country deeper into crisis.
The footage, obtained by Britain's Channel 4, shows a man firing a handgun at Bhutto from close range as she stands up in an open-topped vehicle. Her hair and shawl then move upward, suggesting she may have been shot. She then falls into the vehicle just before an explosion rocks the car.
Government version
The government has insisted Bhutto was not hit by any of the bullets and died after the force of the blast slammed her head against the sunroof. Bhutto's family and supporters say she died from gunshot wounds to her head and neck.
Bhutto's husband said late on Sunday he refused permission for doctors to perform an autopsy, meaning that short of exhuming her body - something her supporters have already ruled out - the cause of her death will be difficult to established.
After days of rioting that left at least 44 dead, life in many Pakistani cities began returning to normal, though soldiers and police patrolled many areas. The streets were still quiet in the southern city of Karachi, the scene of some of the worst violence, witnesses said.
On Sunday, Bhutto's party named her 19-year-old son Bilawal Zardawai as its symbolic leader and left day-to-day control to her husband, extending Pakistan's most enduring political dynasty.
The party immediately said it would contest the polls, perhaps sensing major electoral gains were possible amid sympathy at Bhutto's death and a widespread belief that political allies of US-backed President Pervez Musharraf were behind the killing.
'Mr 10 Percent'
The appointment of Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, as effective leader was not without complications. A former Cabinet minister who spent eight years in prison on corruption accusations, he is known as "Mr. 10 Percent" for allegedly taking kickbacks and is viewed with suspicion by many Pakistanis.
Zardari said the opposition party - Pakistan's largest - had no confidence in the government's ability to bring his wife's killers to justice and urged the United Nations to establish a committee like the one investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The British and US governments had been pushing Bhutto, a moderate Muslim seen as friendly to the West, to form a power-sharing agreement with Musharraf after the election - a combination seen as the most effective in the fight against al-Qaeda, which is believed to be regrouping in the country's lawless tribal areas.
- AP
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