ISLAMABAD - Nearly half of Pakistanis suspect that government agencies or government-linked politicians killed Benazir Bhutto, an opinion poll showed, highlighting the popular mistrust of the country's U.S.-allied president ahead of elections next month.
Bhutto, an opposition leader and former prime minister, was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack on Dec. 27.
The government of President Pervez Musharraf has blamed Islamic extremists for the assassination, who had already reportedly threatened to kill her.
But her political party and family members have repeatedly made vague allegations that elements within Musharraf's government may have been involved. Musharraf has denied any role in the slaying.
The opinion poll, seen Sunday by The Associated Press, showed that 23 per cent of Pakistanis suspected government agencies in the slaying, while 25 per cent believed government-allied politicians were behind it. Only 17 per cent suspected al-Qaida or Taliban.
It comes after a poll by The Canadian Press and Harris/Decima this past week that suggested a majority of Canadians (54 per cent) felt the government of Pakistan wasn't telling the truth about the Bhutto assassination.
Eighteen per cent of the 1, 000 Canadians surveyed between Jan. 3 and 6 believe that the government of President Pervez Musharraf bears direct responsibility for the death of Bhutto. Thirty-nine per cent believe the government bears indirect responsibility.
Still 10 per cent of respondents felt the Pakistan government was free from blame and only slightly more (11 per cent) felt the government was being honest.
Harris/Decima says a sample of this size has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
The poll by Gallup Pakistan, which is affiliated with Gallup International polling group, questioned 1,300 men and women in face-to-face interviews across Pakistan soon after Bhutto's slaying. No margin of error was given.
Information Minister Nisar Memon questioned the poll and its findings.
"I don't think this is representative of the thought process of the people of Pakistan and neither does it reflect the realities,'' he said of the survey. "It is very clear that people know that it is the terrorists who are responsible.''
Musharraf, who has himself survived at least three assassination attempts blamed on militants, seized power eight years ago in a military coup. His popularity was already low before the Bhutto assassination amid demands for greater democratic rule.
The parliamentary elections, which will take place on Feb. 18 after being delayed for six weeks amid rioting triggered by Bhutto's death, are seen as key to Pakistan's transition to democracy as it battles rising attacks by al-Qaida and Taliban militants.
Bhutto's party and the other major opposition grouping are expected to do well in the polls, in part because of sympathy over her death. But most analysts expect no party will gain enough seats to form a government alone and predict the polls will result in a likely unstable coalition. Others fear that vote-rigging may taint the whole process and trigger fresh disputes.
