ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will take up the question of international probe into the assassination of former prime minister and leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Benazir Bhutto with the United Nations afresh as the country's new permanent representative (PR) for the world body Abdullah Hussain Haroon has arrived in New York.

The UN bureaucracy has to make up its mind about the method of the probe though it had agreed in principle for undertaking it when Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited the UN headquarters in July last. Pakistan is clear about the probe and prepared to cooperate with any method that could lead to hidden hands of the assassin of the leader. Once the modalities of the investigations are worked out, the UN experts will come to Pakistan. It is likely that former president Pervez Musharraf, who was heading the administration on the tragic day of December 27, 2007 as president, would also be interrogated since the blanket of immunity as the head of the state available to him is no more there. He had reportedly threatened Ms Bhutto in a telephonic conversation before her return to Pakistan while she was living in exile in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Pakistan's new PR in the UN assumed the office in the UN headquarters in New York last week and he would be taking up the question of probe of Ms Bhutto's assassination with officials of the UN shortly. The UN General Assembly annual session is commencing on the 16th of this month. It is believed that he would discuss the matter with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his meeting next week.

In all probability, President Asif Ali Zardari will lead Pakistan's delegation for the UNGA and would address the world body in the last week of this month. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has already approved the summary for the delegation for the UNGA that has suggested to him to head the delegation but it would be replaced with the president now. The prime minister's name was recommended by the Foreign Office for the purposes last month.

It is expected that President Asif Zardari would meet US President George Bush on the 25th of this month in New York. President Bush will also extend an invitation to him to visit Washington during his trip to the UN. The two presidents are likely to talk to each other on telephone before Asif Zardari takes oath of the office early this week, the sources said. Pakistan's former PR in the UN Muneer Akram had expressed reservations about getting the probe of Ms Bhutto assassination done by the world body initially but subsequently agreed to the proposal and followed the case faithfully.

The sources said that the SG's chief of staff Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar is dealing with the request made by Pakistan with regard to the probe and it has been hinted by diplomatic sources that the UN will come out with fresh proposals pertaining to the method of investigations during their interaction with senior officials of Pakistan's mission in the UN. The method would be formulated keeping Pakistan's sensitiveness and reservations that have been expressed by some people in Pakistan from time to time, the sources said. It is understood that the UNSG will give the world body's mind to President Asif Zardari when the latter will meet him in New York towards the end of this month.