Bhutto probe wants access to Musharraf

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A U.N. team investigating the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto issued a request to speak to former President Pervez Musharraf.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Heraldo Munoz, the Chilean envoy to the United Nations, to lead an independent commission to examine the circumstances surrounding the assassination of Bhutto.

Bhutto was killed in December 2007 in Rawalpindi following a campaign rally for her Pakistan People's Party in the run-up to the January 2008 parliamentary elections.

The commission issued a formal request to gain access to Musharraf and top military officials for questioning, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reports.

"They have shown a desire to meet the top leadership of the army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (Pakistan's intelligence service), and, if there is an inability, the commission would have to reflect it in the final report," the letter said.

The Dawn report notes Musharraf is out of the country and says there is little chance he would return to Pakistan any time soon.

A court in Lahore in September called on Musharraf to hand over information on a case against him in connection with the Bhutto assassination. Bhutto was allegedly wary of Musharraf as she attempted to return to power in Pakistan.

The U.N. commission this week announced it would delay reporting on the Bhutto probe because of the conflict between Pakistani forces and Taliban fighters.