Scotland Yard working arrrangements regarding Bhutto assassination

BENAZIR BHUTTO INVESTIGATION: WORKING ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN SCOTLAND YARD TEAM AND PAKISTANI AUTHORITIES PUBLISHED

 

The British High Commission, and Pakistan's Interior Ministry, today released the working arrangements agreed between the Pakistani law enforcement agencies and the Metropolitan Police Service team assisting with the investigation into the death of Benazir Bhutto.

 

The text of the agreement reads as follows:

 

"At the request of the Pakistan Government, New Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) is deploying a team of investigators to support the Pakistan Law Enforcement Agencies responsible for investigating the death of Benazir Bhutto.  The principal purpose of the SO15 deployment is to assist the local authorities in providing clarity regarding the precise cause of Ms Bhutto's death.

 

"The team will provide forensic expertise and other investigative assistance as appears appropriate to the senior officer Detective Superintendent MacBrayne who will lead the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) team.  The MPS officers will assist and report to the Pakistan senior investigators.  The primacy and responsibility for the investigation remains with the Pakistan authorities.

 

"The MPS team will consist of experts in the areas of crime scene investigation, forensics, and evidence analysis."

 

 

ENDS

 

Notes to the Editor

§         Five officers of the UK's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) deployed to Pakistan on Friday 4 January 2008, following a request by President Musharraf to assist in the investigation of the death of Benazir Bhutto, following a rally in Rawalpindi on 27 December 2007.

§         The officers belong to the Counter Terrorism Command, known as SO15, of the MPS.  The MPS is often informally called 'Scotland Yard' after the name of their headquarters building, New Scotland Yard, in central London.

§         The agreement on working arrangements is being published following the UK Foreign Secretary's commitment in the House of Commons on Monday 7 January 2008 to publish the team's terms of reference.  It was agreed in principle before the team's deployment, and signed off by the team and the Pakistani Interior Ministry at a meeting shortly after they arrived.

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N A D E E M M A L I K
CNBC PAKISTAN
BUREAU CHIEF
ISLAMABAD
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