US welcomes move to seek British help in probe

By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, Jan 2: The White House on Wednesday welcomed Pakistan’s decision to involve Britain’s Scotland Yard in investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and urged all parties to cooperate with the probe.

Earlier Wednesday, the White House had offered to help investigate the murder if Pakistan were to ask the US to do so but changed its position after President Pervez Musharraf announced he had asked Britain to assist.

At a regular briefing, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino also refused to criticise Islamabad’s decision to postpone the national elections from Jan 8 to Feb 18, saying: “It’s a decision the Pakistanis had to make. The Americans can’t make every decision for them.”

Also on Wednesday, US President George W. Bush discussed the situation in Pakistan in a video conference call with Afghan President Hamid Karzai who visited Islamabad last week, Ms Perino said.

Mr Bush spoke with President Musharraf last week after Ms Bhutto was killed.

Asked if the White House favoured the PPP demand for a UN-led investigation of the killing, Ms Perino said: “The Pakistanis have just made a decision to ask the Scotland Yard to get involved, and we think that that’s appropriate. We welcome that.”

She noted that Scotland Yard has expertise in investigating such murders, adding: “What’s most important is that they proceed quickly and in a transparent and comprehensive way so that the people of Pakistan can get the answers that they deserve.”

Asked why did Pakistan not ask the United States for help, when Washington had already offered to assist the probe, the White House spokesperson said she was not willing to disclose the details of the discussions Islamabad has had with Washington.

“What I can say is that we certainly support the Scotland Yard being involved and we think that they’ll do an excellent job, and we hope that they will be able to move quickly and provide for a very transparent report so that the Pakistanis can feel comfortable that they have the answers that they’ve been asking for.”

Ms Perino also said that the US had been holding regular discussions with Pakistan on this subject since Ms Bhutto was assassinated.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, she said, briefed President Bush on Wednesday on the situation in Pakistan.

The secretary, she said, had been in touch with Pakistani leaders including President Musharraf and those in the PPP.

“And we’re going to continue to work with them because the most important thing we can do is to keep Pakistan as a stable country, establishing their democracy in a way that can lead them away from violence,” said the White House spokeswoman.

“And so we urge the political parties that are there to ask their followers to refrain from violence, to look to the investigation that Scotland Yard will produce. That will be transparent and fair and hopefully move ahead as quickly as possible.”

Ms Perino refused to comment on media reports that Pakistani authorities had washed away the site of the assassination, removing all evidence.

“As to the forensics of the investigation, I’m going to leave that to Scotland Yard, so that they can gather whatever the Pakistanis have. And maybe what happened after the assassination will be a part of the investigation. So let me put that aside and let Scotland Yard deal with that.”

Ms Perino also rejected the suggestion that the US should suspend its assistance to Pakistan over this incident.

“Pakistan has been an important ally in the global war on terror, and it will remain so. There are many challenges in regards to terrorism in that area, and so we’re going to have to continue to work with them,” she said.

Commenting on Pakistani opposition parties’ statement that the postponement will disadvantage them in the elections, Ms Perino said the delay would allow people “to move forward in a situation where they can speak freely to the media and continue to move forward their path to democracy.”

She said the US hopes that the people would be able to participate in the process freely and opposition parties would be allowed to run their campaign without hindrance form the government.