DarkTimes - 24Hr Global News Blog

The Pakistani Government today published a picture of what it said was the severed head of the suicide bomber who killed Benazir Bhutto and offered a reward of almost £83,000 to anyone able to identify him.

Amid growing criticism of the police investigation into the opposition leader's killing, two pictures featuring men believed to be involved in the Rawalpindi shooting and suicide bombing were published today in Jang, the country's biggest-selling Urdu-language daily.

As well as an image of the severed head of a clean-shaven man who police suspect to be the bomber, another image - taken in the minutes before the blast - shows a young man wearing sunglasses and a dark waistcoat staring at the camera with a man wrapped in a white shawl standing directly behind him.

Alongside the pictures, the Government published a statement saying: "The people’s co-operation is being sought in this tragic incident and a picture of the criminals is being released."
It offered a reward of 10 million rupees (£82,645) for any information about the men, adding: "The name and address of the informant will be kept secret."

Later, in what appeared a further attempt to silence opposition anger over the conduct of the investigation, President Musharraf reversed the Pakistani Government's previous position and announced that he had requested foreign police help, with Scotland Yard sending out a team of officers by the end of the week.

The moves came amid huge tension between President Musharraf and his political opponents over the investigation into Ms Bhutto's killing.

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), now headed by her widower, disputes Government claims that she died after cracking her head on the her car sunroof handle, pointing to a number of video and photographic images showing that she was shot as she waved to crowds before a suicide bomber blew himself up in the seconds afterwards.

Offers of assistance in the investigation have so far come from the United States, Britain and France.