Global General

UN extends Bhutto inquiry commission

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-01 11:19

UNITED NATIONS: A UN probe into the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will be extended by three months because "the substantial amount" of work, the United Nations announced here Thursday.

A statement, issued here by the spokesman for UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, said, "The secretary-general has informed the government of Pakistan that he intends to extend to March 31, 2010 the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto."

"He has also informed the Security Council of the same," the statement said.

The three-member Commission commenced on July 1, 2009 and was to have submitted its report on December 31, 2009. "Because of the substantial amount of information collected by the Commission in Pakistan and further follow up work that remains, the Commissioners requested additional time to complete their report," said the statement.

"At the completion of its mandate, the Commission will submit its report to the secretary-general who will share it with the government of Pakistan," the statement said.

The Commission, headed by Chile's UN Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, is looking into the circumstances surrounding the attack that killed Bhutto after an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi city on December 27, 2007. Ban set up the Commission at the request of the Pakistani government.

The panel is not expected to name suspected culprits. Any criminal investigation will be up to Pakistani authorities, but Munoz has said the commission's findings may be able to complement the government's efforts.