Detective quits Bhutto blast probe

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Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto addressing the media at her residence in Karachi Tuesday.

KARACHI, Oct 24 (AP): The senior detective leading the probe into the suicide attack on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has withdrawn from the case because she objected to his credentials, a senior official said Wednesday.
"The investigation team will be formed anew after Manzur Mughal disassociated himself from the investigation in view of the objections raised by Benazir Bhutto on the chief investigator's credentials," said Ghulam Muhammad Mohtarem, the home secretary of Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.
Last Thursday, two suicide bombers attacked a truck carrying Bhutto through a sea of more than 150,000 supporters in Karachi who had welcomed her back from more than eight years in exile, killing at least 136 people.
The government has promised a thorough investigation of the attack, which has raised doubts about Pakistan's stability as it heads toward crucial elections.
Bhutto has accused elements in the government and security services of complicity in the explosions and called for international experts to help in the investigation. Government officials insist Pakistani authorities can handle the investigation on their own.
Mohtarem said the provincial government had no doubt about Mughal's competency and professionalism, but said he had decided to withdraw to protect the investigation from accusations of bias.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's army has sent 2,500 paramilitary troops into a remote valley in the country's northwest to combat followers of a militant cleric calling for Taliban-style rule, a military spokesman said Wednesday.
Troops were deployed Tuesday and were setting up checkpoints across Swat, a mountain valley popular with tourists until violence flared there this summer, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said.
PTI from Islamabad adds: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday announced a package to give financial and administrative autonomy to the Northern Areas, where long years of federal rule have given rise to charges of neglect and under-development.
The move by the embattled military ruler is being seen as an attempt to counter a surge in political activities in the mountainous region after the return from exile of former Premier Benazir Bhutto. Her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has built up a large following in the area and many of her supporters from the region had gone to attend her homecoming rally in Karachi.
Under the new package, the existing Northern Areas Legislative Council based in Gilgit will be given the status of an assembly with powers to make its own annual budget and development plan.
The post of the Deputy Chief Executive of the Northern Areas, the number two official of the region, has been upgraded to Chief Executive.
The post of the Chief Executive, who is a federal official and called the shots till now, was changed to that of the Chairman of the Northern Areas.
Musharraf, who flew to the region yesterday, told senior leaders of the area that most of the 52 proposals prepared by the Northern Areas Legislative Council had been approved by his government.
"Most of the powers presently being exercised by the ministry of Kashmir and Northern Areas would be transferred to the new Chief Executive and the legislative assembly under the package," Musharraf said.