UN Security Council accused in Bhutto 'cover-up'

Benazir Bhutto's supporters are wondering if the UN Security Council is helping cover up a conspiracy behind her killing. The Pakistani opposition leader's supporters have asked Council members how they knew that she was killed by "terrorists," and not the government she opposed. On Dec. 27, after hours-long discussions behind closed doors, the Council released a presidential statement saying that Bhutto was killed as a result of a "terrorist" attack. That is exactly what the Pakistani government was saying at the time, without holding any investigations into the crime. But the official version of how Bhutto was assassinated has changed since then. Those questioning the Council's view wonder why it could not wait for the result of an initial probe into the cause of the fatal attack on Bhutto's life before stating in a resolution that it was a terrorist act. The Council met around noon, just four hours after Bhutto's death. According to UN officials, the decision to convene the Council meeting was made around 10:30am that morning. A diplomatic source who was present at the meeting told OneWorld that the Council did not immediately agree on a presidential draft statement because some members had issues with its wording. Delegates from Belgium and Africa, according to the source, wanted to know why Bhutto's murder should be described as a terrorist act in the statement in the absence of any conclusive evidence. But the United States envoy who had introduced the draft statement insisted that the cause of her death was a terrorist act and that its ally Pakistan would like to retain that wording. "Why should Pakistan tell us what to do?" the Belgian delegate reportedly asked in response. "It's not a member of the Council." Soon after that the Council reportedly decided to take a "short break," a diplomatic practice meant to indicate difficulties in agreeing on a collective course of action. On their return, the members disagreed again and took another recess before reaching a consensus on the final draft with certain, but not overly substantial, changes in the language. The final statement still reflected more concern about "terrorism" than the assassination of Bhutto. In fact, the word "terrorism" appears 10 times more than the name of the slain Pakistani leader. Critics have also wondered why the Council did not call for an international investigation into her murder as it did in the case of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri, who was killed in relatively similar circumstances in 2005. The Council statement underlined "the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers, and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism to justice." Since her murder at a public rally last Thursday, Bhutto's supporters have consistently charged that the government, led by President Pervez Musharraf, was responsible for the assassination of their leader. But Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan as a military dictator for about eight years and is now a civilian president, blames Islamist "terrorists" for Bhutto's murder. So does President Bush. Musharraf and Bush, who are allies in the so-called "war on terror," have so far offered no solid evidence to substantiate their claim that Bhutto was killed by "terrorists." Within hours of the assassination, the government in Islamabad said a Taliban leader with a link to al-Qaida was involved. That has raised the question that if the government knew that then, why did it fail to stop the carnage? The man accused by Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, denies that his group was involved. Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which mistrusts the Musharraf government, says it wants justice from the international community. Bhutto herself made a similar call for an international inquiry into the government's actions some two months ago when a powerful blast killed more than 100 of her supporters and injured many more. Musharraf not only refused to allow an international probe then, but also rejected Bhutto's demand for the removal of officials she suspected to be involved in the October attack on her rally. He blamed Islamist terrorists for the incident and promised to bring the culprits to justice while urging opposition leaders to stay away from speaking at mass demonstrations and rallies. No one has been punished for that carnage as yet. Bhutto said the October blast was masterminded by certain elements in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the military's secret service, which is notorious for its deep involvement in the country's politics. According to regional experts, the ISI was actively involved in setting up training camps for Islamist "holy warriors" who fought the Soviets in the 1980s. Many analysts believe close links still exist between the ISI and militant Islamists. Pakistan, an nation carved from a piece of British India in 1947, has been ruled by military dictators for well over 30 years of its existence. Almost all of them enjoyed the full backing of the White House. Bhutto's father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was the only Pakistani leader who openly clashed with Washington. He was hanged by the US-backed military dictator Ziaul Haq in 1979. Bhutto was around 25 at the time her father was executed. She spent five years in solitary confinement before her captors let her seek medical treatment in London in 1984. When she returned home in April 1986, millions of people took to the streets to show their support for her determination to challenge the army rule. She won national elections in 1988 and became the first-ever prime minister, but could not complete her 5-year term due to increased hostility from the army establishment. Bhutto regained power in 1993, but her term was cut short again by another president close to the army leadership. In both cases, she was thrown out of the office on corruption charges that were never proved. After living in exile for eight years, she reached an understanding with Musharraf earlier this year that would allow her to run for prime minister as he remained in office as president. But the US-brokered deal did not work. During her election campaign Bhutto not only posed a strong challenge to religious extremists, but also attacked Musharraf for cracking down on the judiciary, media, and civil society. The Musharraf regime has changed its version of the events leading to Bhutto's death. First it said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. But later, officials said she was killed when the force of the bomb blast knocked her head against a sun roof fitting of her vehicle. The state-owned television released new pictures it said showed Bhutto's attackers -- a gunman and a suicide bomber. They also apparently showed Bhutto was inside her car, and no longer standing through the sun roof, when the explosion happened. The images added to the dispute over Bhutto's death. The PPP has insisted she was killed by two bullets, one of which pierced her skull and another that hit her in the neck. No autopsy was conducted on Bhutto's body. Her husband and other party leaders said Sunday they want the UN and the British government to conduct an investigation similar to the one carried out after the killing of Lebanon's Hariri.