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UN chief backs efforts to seek truth on Bhutto assassination

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-27 09:39

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon Friday said that he supports Pakistan's efforts to search for truth and justice on the December 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

A supporter holds a candle next to a picture of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto during a prayer ceremony ahead of her first death anniversary in Karachi December 26, 2008. Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007 after a public rally in Rawalpindi. [Agencies]

A statement issued here by Ban's spokesperson said, "One year ago, assassins took the life of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan. On this painful anniversary, the secretary-general stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Pakistan and assures them of his commitment to contribute to their search for truth and justice."

Bhutto, 54, was killed on December 27, 2007 in a gun and suicide attack at an election rally in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi. Her killing shocked the world.

In response to the request that the secretary-general establish an independent Commission of Inquiry into the circumstance of the killing, "the United Nations Secretariat has been in consultations with the government of Pakistan to determine the nature of the commission, the scope of its mandate and the modalities for its establishment," the statement said.

"The Secretariat has also been in consultations on this matter with members of the United Nations Security Council," the statement said.

"The secretary-general is hopeful that, with the progression of the discussions, the commission could be established in the near future," the statement added.

A supporter reads the Koran at the grave of slain leader, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, ahead of her first death anniversary in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, near Larkana December 26, 2008. Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007, after a public rally in Rawalpindi.[Agencies]

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