Taliban commander denies hand in Bhutto's killing

In a new twist to the killing of former premier Benazir Bhutto, the Taliban commander blamed by the Pakistan government for masterminding the assassination on Saturday denied any involvement in the attack.

Maulvi Muhammad Omar, a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, told media persons in Peshawar on phone from an undisclosed location that the government was trying to implicate Mehsud to cover up its 'failure' to provide security to Bhutto.

"We are sad over Benazir Bhutto's death. We do not have any enmity with Pakistani leaders and are only opposed to the US," Omar said, described the government's claims about Mehsud's involvement in the suicide attack as 'propaganda.'

The interior minister had yesterday blamed Mehsud and Al Qaeda for a series of suicide attacks across Pakistan and the assassination of Bhutto, who was killed by a suicide attacker after an election rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said Al Qaeda was bent on destabilising Pakistan.

Mehsud was recently chosen as chief of the Tehrik Taliban-e-Pakistan, a coalition of pro-Taliban groups from Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas.

Maulvi Omar said it was against tribal culture and traditions to attack a woman.

Omar also said a transcript released by the interior ministry of a purported conversation in which Mehsud apparently congratulated another person for the attack on Bhutto was 'fabricated.'

"Mehsud never congratulated anyone for the killing of Benazir Bhutto," he said.