Pakistan rejects foreign help as riots kill 44

“Criminals should stop their despicable activities, otherwise they will have to face serious consequences,” Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said.

With their leader dead, the Pakistan People’s Party called a meeting tomorrow at which it was expected to choose a new leader, decide whether to participate in January 8 parliamentary elections and hear Ms Bhutto’s last will and testament.

If the party pulls out, it would destroy the credibility of the poll, already being boycotted by rival opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. The US government has pressured Mr Musharraf, who seized power in a coup eight years ago, to push ahead with the election to promote stability in this nuclear armed nation, a key ally in the war on terror.

The riots destroyed nine election offices – along with the voter rolls and ballot boxes inside – hampered the printing of ballot slips and the training of poll workers, the election commission said. The commission has called an emergency meeting for Monday to decide how to proceed.

Questions about the circumstances of Ms Bhutto’s assassination have intensified since she died Thursday evening when a suicide attacker shot at her and then blew himself up as she waved to supporters from the sunroof of her armoured vehicle outside a campaign rally.

The government blamed the attack on Baitullah Mehsud, head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban, a newly formed coalition of Islamic militants along the Afghan border believed to be linked to al Qaida and committed to waging holy war against the government.

But a spokesman for Mehsud, Maulana Mohammed Umer, dismissed the allegations as “government propaganda”.

“We strongly deny it. Baitullah Mehsud is not involved in the killing of Benazir Bhutto,” he said. “The fact is that we are only against America, and we don’t consider political leaders of Pakistan our enemy.”

Ms Bhutto’s aides said they, too, doubted Mehsud was involved and accused the government of a cover-up.

“The story that al Qaida or Baitullah Mehsud did it appears to us to be a planted story, an incorrect story, because they want to divert the attention,” said Farhatullah Babar, a spokesman for Ms Bhutto’s party.

After an October suicide attack targeted her in the city of Karachi, Ms Bhutto accused elements in the ruling party of plotting to kill her. The government denied the claims, and Babar said Ms Bhutto’s allegations were never investigated.

Controversy also swirled about the cause of death. Authorities initially said she died from bullet wounds. A surgeon who treated her later said the impact from shrapnel on her skull killed her.

But Mr Cheema said on Friday that Ms Bhutto was killed when the shockwaves from the bomb smashed her head into the sunroof as she tried to duck back inside the vehicle.

Ms Bhutto’s spokeswoman Sherry Rehman, who was in the vehicle that rushed her boss to the hospital, disputed that.

“She was bleeding profusely, as she had received a bullet wound in her neck. My car was full of blood. Three doctors at the hospital told us that she had received bullet wounds. I was among the people who gave her a final bath. We saw a bullet wound in the back of her neck,” she said. “What the government is saying is actually dangerous and nonsensical. They are pouring salt on our wounds. There are no findings, they are just lying.”

Mr Cheema stood by the government’s version of events, and said Ms Bhutto’s party was free to exhume her body to conduct an autopsy.

The disputes were sure to further enflame the violence and have led to calls for an international, independent investigation into the attack.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband offered his country’s assistance. “Obviously it’s very important that a full investigation does take place, and has the confidence of all concerned,” he said.

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said an international probe was vital because there was “no reason to trust the Pakistani government,” while others called for a UN investigation.

Mr Cheema dismissed the suggestion.

“This is not an ordinary criminal matter in which we require assistance of the international community. I think we are capable of handling it,” he said. An independent judicial investigation should be completed within seven days of the appointment of its presiding judge, he said.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Pakistan had not asked the US for help.

“It’s a responsibility of the government of Pakistan to ensure that the investigation is thorough. If Pakistani authorities ask for assistance we would review the request,” he said.

Roads across Ms Bhutto’s southern Sindh province were littered with burning vehicles, smoking reminders of the continuing chaos raging across the country. Business centres, gas stations and schools remained closed and many roads were deserted.

At least 44 people were killed in Sindh, officials there said, and there were reports of scattered deaths elsewhere.

The rioters destroyed 176 banks, 34 petrol stations, 72 train carriages, 18 railway stations, hundreds of cars and shops and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, Mr Cheema said. At least 100 prisoners were sprung from jails, he said.

Desperate to quell the violence, the government sent troops into several cities. Soldiers patrolled some Karachi neighbourhoods Saturday, and residents complained of shortages of food and gasoline.

One gunbattle in Karachi killed three people and wounded 17 others in a neighbourhood where rioters had looted food stores in recent days, police officer Fayyaz Khan said.

Rangers were given the authority to shoot at rioters to quell the violence, and some of the wounded in the Karachi incident said the paramilitary troops fired at them without provocation.

Najib Ullah, 13, said he was among 15 boys playing cricket in the street when he was hit by a Ranger bullet. He said he saw other boys falling to the ground, apparently after being shot.