PAKISTAN:Officials from Benazir Bhutto's political party say the admission by Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf that she may have been killed by a gunman shows the need for a UN-led investigation into the assassination, writes Mary Fitzgerald, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, in Karachi.
In an interview broadcast on CBS last night, Mr Musharraf admitted for the first time that Bhutto may have been shot.
The former prime minister died in a gun and suicide bomb attack as she left an election rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi on December 27th. Her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has insisted from the beginning that she was shot.
Musharraf's comments contradict the account Pakistani authorities have given of her death so far. Interior ministry officials have claimed the gunman did not hit Bhutto, and instead she died after the force of the bomb blast caused her to slam her head against the sunroof of the vehicle she was travelling in at the time.
The president was asked during an interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes whether a gunshot could have caused Bhutto's fatal head injuries. He replied, "Yes, yes". The interviewer went on to ask, "So she may have been shot?" and Mr Musharraf said, "Yes, absolutely, yes. Possibility." PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the president's remarks showed the government was changing its version of events.
"It reinforces doubts and suspicions and lends credence to our demands for an independent inquiry by the UN," he said.
Mr Musharraf has invited a team from Scotland Yard to help investigate the murder but has rebuffed PPP demands for a UN-led inquiry. Video footage of the attack shows a gunman firing at Bhutto at close range as she waved to supporters from the roof of her vehicle.
Mr Musharraf also told CBS that Bhutto only had herself to blame for her death.
"For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone. Nobody else. Responsibility is hers," he said.
Many of Bhutto's supporters have blamed the government for failing to protect their leader despite her requests for tighter security after a suicide bomber targeted her cavalcade during a homecoming rally in Karachi in October.
There is widespread suspicion in Pakistan that elements within the government or military who are opposed to the country's move towards civilian-led democracy were behind the attack.
Bhutto's assassination triggered widespread unrest which led to the postponement of general elections until February 18th. The elections are seen as a crucial element of Pakistan's transition to democracy after eight years of military rule.