Scotland Yard arrives in Pakistan, but it will make “little difference”
Islamabad (AsiaNews) – A group of Scotland Yard detectives will work alongside Pakistani police investigating the assassination of former Premier Benazir Bhutto. President Pervez Musharraf announced the move yesterday evening during a nationwide televised address reaffirming that the leader of the Pakistan’s Peoples Party was killed by “terrorists”.
“It is essential to go into details of how Benazir Bhutto was martyred” – said the Head of State. “It is necessary to remove the nation’s confusion over the manner in which she was assassinated,” he added “I request media not to add to this confusion”. He then announced the immediate arrival of a team from Scotland Yard, made available by the British government.
Musharraf’s speech follows the announcement of the postponement of elections to February 18th from January 8th. It was feared that the Election Commission’s decision would spark a fresh wave of violence similar to those which rocked Pakistan last week following the death of Bhutto. The president sought to “reassure” the people: “the army and Rangers would remain deployed in Sindh and the rest of the country during and after the elections to ensure peaceful polling”.
The United States immediately gave it support to the new polling date, as well as Great Britain’s involvement in investigations. But there was also heavy criticism. The PPP does not accept the involvement of Scotland Yard and has once again asked that a formal UN enquiry be held. Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman and husband of Bhutto, has asked “Why the government did not seek Scotland Yard’s help when Benazir had called for it after the October 18 blasts in Karachi? Had the Government called the Scotland Yard team at that time, the tragedy would not have occurred”. But the possibility of a UN enquiry appears remote. According to experts it is the White House that opposes it: an international enquiry could come up with embarrassing results for a government that Washington has always considered a key allay in fighting terrorism in the region.
Various analysts have expressed doubts. Scotland Yard’s presence in a nation that has along history in political killings will make little difference in trying to discover the truth. “These cases are never resolved – political analyst Hasan Askari says – they remain ongoing”. This is why many see Musharraf’s decision as an attempt to limit damage and deflect international pressure on the current administration.
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