Chilean diplomat to head Bhutto probe

UNITED NATIONS, June 20 (UPI) -- A Chilean diplomat is to lead a investigation into the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the United Nations said Saturday.

Heraldo Munoz, Chile's U.N. ambassador, is to lead the independent commission established at Pakistan's request, the U.N. News Service reported. The fact-finding commission plans to begin work July 1 and submit its report six months later.

"The duty of determining criminal responsibility of the perpetrators of the assassination remains with the Pakistani authorities," said a U.N. statement released Saturday.

Other members of the commission include Marzuki Darusman, a former attorney general of Indonesia, and Peter Fitzgerald, a veteran of the Irish National Police.

Bhutto, 54, was assassinated in December 2007 while riding in a car in Rawalpindi at a campaign rally ahead of parliamentary elections. Aides to Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan's Taliban chief, have attributed him with responsibility for the assassination, CNN reported Saturday.