Bhutto's husband gives evidence to Scotland Yard

KARACHI: The widower of slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto said on Tuesday that he had given evidence to a team of British detectives who are investigating her assassination.   

Asif Ali Zardari also said he would now directly approach the United Nations for a probe into her killing after the government rejected his request to get the world body involved.   

"I along with other party leaders met the Scotland Yard team in Karachi and I gave them some evidence," Zardari said at the Bhutto family home in the southern port city.   

He did not say what kind of evidence he provided to the British squad.   

"They had some questions... We will now consult other party leaders and give them further evidence," added Zardari, who took over as co-chairman of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party after her murder.   

He and the couple's 19-year-old son Bilawal, who is being groomed to assume full leadership of the party when he is older, have both called for a formal UN inquiry into her death.   

Bhutto, a former premier, was assassinated in a gun and suicide bomb attack at an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27 but conflicting government accounts of her killing have caused a storm of controversy.   

Zardari said the British police team had a "limited mandate", covering only the cause of death, and that the UN should also be involved.   

"The government rejected our appeal for a UN probe, so the People's Party will directly approach the UN," he said.   

He added that he had spoken to former UN secretary general Kofi Annan on the matter.   

Six of the British detectives left Pakistan bound for London on Monday with evidence collected from their investigation. Four other members of the team are staying in Pakistan to help local police with their probe.