16 Apr 2010

Bhutto killing could have been prevented, says UN

2:31 pm on 16 April 2010

A United Nations report on the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto says her killing could have been prevented if adequate security measures had been taken.

Ms Bhutto died in a bomb and gun attack at an election rally in Rawalpindi on 27 December 2007.

The commission was set up in July last year in response to a request from Pakistan.

The commission also says it believes a failure by Pakistani police to investigate her killing was "deliberate".

It adds that Ms Bhutto's death could have been prevented if the government under former military leader, Pervez Musharraf, had taken the necessary measures "to respond to the extraordinary, fresh and urgent security risks that they knew she faced."

The BBC reports members of Ms Bhutto's political party did not trust the military government running the country when she died.