Washington should address "troubling questions" about Pakistan's probe of Benazir's assassination and its co-operation in fighting terrorism before extending any more aid, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Saturday.
Pelosi called for an international investigation into the December 27 assassination of Benazir, which President Pervez Musharraf's government has blamed on al Qaeda. PPP dismissed the government account, saying Musharraf's administration was trying to cover up its failure to protect her.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, said US law made assistance to Pakistan conditional on Islamabad's co-operation in the war against terrorism. "The refusal by the Musharraf government to accept international assistance with the investigation of the assassination of Benazir and recent reports that previous US aid to Pakistan has been misspent, raise troubling questions about whether those conditions are being met," she said in a statement.
"These questions must be addressed by the Bush administration before any additional US aid is sent to the Musharraf government." The Republican US president had encouraged Musharraf and Benazir to agree on a power-sharing deal in the hopes of stabilising the country.
Bush has urged Pakistanis to honour Benazir's memory by going ahead with elections set for January 8, but a White House spokesman said on Saturday it was up to the Pakistani authorities to determine the timing. Pelosi said the Bush administration must "press the Pakistani government to ensure that the coming election is free and fair."
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