Benazir Assassination: The big questions

CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD: Pak govt claims Benazir died of a sharpnel injury.

Other stories in the section:

Pak parliament for UN to probe Benazir death

Pakistan passed a resolution urging a UN probe into Benazir Bhutto's death.

• Blog from Pakistan: Dawn of a new parliamentary era
• Blog from Pakistan: PPP and Kashmir
• Bush heckled during speech, called a fascist
• N-deal offered to India is far too generous: NYT

Featured Blog

Abhishek Patni

MAULANA MULAYAM AND PERILS OF NUCLEAR DEAL

Featured Slideshows

New Delhi: Benazir Bhutto’s medical report and the claim by a Pakistan minister that the PPP leader did not die of bullet injury has brought to fore several crucial unanswered questions.

While Pakistan insists al-Qaeda is responsible for the assassination, many like Tehrik-e-Insaaf president Imran Khan say Pervez Musharraf is to blame.

Given below are the four critical questions that still remain unanswered:

The Missing Bullets:

Thursday: Reports claimed she had been hit by five bullets in the neck and chest.

Friday: There are no bullet marks on her body.

Why No Autopsy

Thursday: Body handed over to family within hours.

Friday: Doubts raised after her burial.

Question: Why was no post-mortem conducted?

Did Benazir Die of Skull Fracture?

Thursday: Bullet injuries caused death.

Friday: Theory of skull fracture or shrapnel injury introduced.

Question: How was this established without autopsy?

Permission Needed?

Thursday: Was formal investigation launched?

Friday: Medical report released.

Question: Is formal permission needed to conduct autopsy?

Pakistan correspondent of Indian national daily The Hindu, Nirupama Subramaniam, was close to the spot where Benazir was killed.

“I initially thought it was a firecracker. I heard two rounds of gun-fire and then when the explosion happened, I realised it was gun-fire. There were policemen in front of the stage but not in a huge number. They were in a state of shock, the assistant said 'I don’t know, I don’t know’. Those who had injuries were hardly coherent to tell what had happened,” she told CNN-IBN.

A Pakistani reporter says intelligence officials present at the site had doubted whether Bhutto was shot.

"Initial reports were based on the accounts given by intelligence officials who were present on site. Most of them believe that one person being a suicide bomber and sharp shooter at the same time is a far fetched possibility," the reporter told CNN-IBN.