Gordon Brown, Britain’s Prime Minister had said in a televised address that he had agreed to send a team of detectives from Britain to Pakistan to establish what had happened in regards to Ms. Bhutto’s assassination. Mr. Brown said that “terrorists” were responsible for the murder.
Mr. Musharraf had postponed the elections after he said too much destruction has been done to the polling stations and papers during the chaos that broke out after Ms. Bhutto’s assassination.
“Election commission offices, their centres, polling stations and their equipment were all damaged and destroyed. Hence the election commission was facing a big difficulty to hold these elections [on 8 January],” Musharraf explained.
He had also said that a commission to identify the source of the widespread violence would be set up. At least 47 people have died in the violence.
However, he said that the elections will be free, fair, transparent, and peaceful. This was Musharraf’s first major public speech ever since Ms. Bhutto’s assassination.
He sticks by his claims that Al-Qaeda and pro-Taliban militants were behind her death. Musharraf has urged the media to expose the militant leaders who were orchestrating suicide attacks in Pakistan.
Musharraf explains that new evidence has come to light but needed expert advice while thanking Mr. Brown for accepting his request for help. While a UK investigation team would be sent, Pakistani authorities will still lead the investigation.
According to BBC, British detectives privately wonder how much they will be able to achieve. Almost all the forensic evidence is gone. They would have to exhume her body which her family strongly opposes.
BBC says that the cause of her death will remain unknown unless her body is exhumed and examined by neutral experts.