The United Nations on Tuesday delayed till April 15 the release of its probe panel's report on the assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto following a request from Islamabad.
"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has accepted an urgent request by the President of Pakistan to delay the presentation of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the assassination of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto until 15 April 2010," a statement issued by Ban's office said.
The Secretary-General received an overnight communication from Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, requesting that the disclosure of the report be delayed until April 15, UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York.
The reasons for the request have not been disclosed but Nesirky underlined that only the Commission knew the contents of the report, which had not been seen by Ban or any other member of his office.
Meanwhile, a UN spokesperson said in Islamabad that the world body would close all its offices across Pakistan for three days ahead of the release of the panel's report.
The first woman prime minister of a Muslim country, Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack at a rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi in December 2007 campaigning for the Pakistan Peoples Party in parliamentary and provincial elections.
Investigations carried out by then president Pervez Musharraf's government blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistani Taliban commander who operates in the lawless tribal areas of northwest region, for the attack.
Bhutto's supporters, not satisfied by Pakistani investigations, have accused Musharraf and his allies of having a role in the murder.
When Zardari became president, he asked the UN to carry out an independent investigation. The Commission, which started its work on July 1 last year to perform 'fact finding activities in Pakistan and abroad,' questioned Musharraf and other Pakistani leaders in November last year.
