Bhutto probe: Musharraf may seek foreign help

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has agreed to consider international help to probe the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf conveyed this to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown when the two leaders spoke on Sunday night on telephone, Geo News channel reported.

Brown spoke to Musharraf about British assistance for investigating the assassination of Bhutto, who was killed by a suicide attacker soon after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The two leaders spoke as Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari called for a probe by the UN into the assassination of his wife. Zardari also said he would seek the British government's help in this regard.

Brown also urged Musharraf to avoid any 'significant delay' in holding parliamentary polls amidst reports that the January 8 elections could be postponed.

Musharraf's spokesman Maj Gen (retired) Rashid Qureshi told media persons the two leaders had spoken but added he was not aware whether the probe into Bhutto's death was discussed.

Geo News also said a top leader of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party was in London to liaise with the British government. A special team from Scotland Yard was standing by to travel to Pakistan to help in the probe into the assassination, it said.