UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The U.N. mandate for the commission investigating the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto is expected to be extended three months, officials said in New York.
In July, a U.N. commission headed by Chilean envoy Heraldo Munoz began its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assassination of the former Pakistani prime minster in December 2007 in Rawalpindi.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he considered a plea by Munoz to extend the mandate for the commission to March a "reasonable request," Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reports.
Bhutto was killed Dec. 27, 2007, following a campaign rally for her Pakistan People's Party in the run-up to the January 2008 parliamentary elections.
A court in Lahore in September called on former Pakistani President Pervez 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.
Meanwhile, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widow, said memorials on the anniversary of her assassination would be muted due to the security situation in Pakistan and because of its close correspondence with the Islamic holy day of Ashura.
The U.N. commission was expected to hand over its findings to Ban by Dec. 31.
