Benazir's son named political successor

The son of assassinated Pakistan former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has been named the new chairman of her party.Aged 19, Bilawal Bhutto was appointed after reading his mother's political will to a special meeting of the Pakistan Peoples Party.His father Asif Ali Zardari will be co-chairman and it was reported that Mr Bhutto would finish his studies in the UK before taking full control.The announcement came as the ruling party said the country's elections, due on January 8, were likely to be delayed by up to four months amid ongoing violence.The party is reported to be overwhelmingly in favour of taking part in a general election, but had yet to reach a formal decision on participation in it.Another opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said he would reverse a decision to boycott an early poll if the PPP decided it would contest them.The meeting took place amid mounting tension over conflicting claims about who was behind the assassination and how Ms Bhutto died.She was killed when a suicide bomber first shot at her and then blew himself up as she left a pre-election rally, weeks after returning from exile.Her supporters dispute government claims that an "al Qaida" militant leader was behind the attack, instead accusing the authorities of trying to cover-up a failure to protect her.Further anger was sparked by official findings that the cause of death was not bullets or shrapnel but the blast forcing her head into a lever as she ducked back into her armoured vehicle.Foreign Secretary David Miliband insisted yesterday that Britain had no reason to doubt the Pakistani government's account - and offered British help with an inquiry.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

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ITN | December 30, 2007

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