Pakistan raises with U.N. probe of Bhutto killing

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Pakistan's new prime minister raised with the United Nations on Wednesday the possibility of the world body investigating the assassination of political leader Benazir Bhutto, a U.N. spokeswoman said.

The premier, Yousaf Raza Gilani, raised the issue when U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon telephoned him to congratulate him on his appointment, Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas said.

Ban told Gilani the United Nations would need a formal request from Pakistan before considering the matter and Gilani said a resolution by Pakistan's parliament would be the first step, Montas told reporters.

Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party and a former prime minister, was killed in a car bomb explosion on December 27 after a rally in Rawalpindi. Pakistan accused al Qaeda of killing her.

"The secretary-general said ... that the U.N. cannot do anything unless we receive a formal request from the government," Montas said.

Ban himself could not authorize an investigation and would hand any request to the 15-nation Security Council, she said. "We don't know exactly what they will be requesting. So it's going to be for the Security Council to discuss," she said.

In a possible parallel, the Security Council set up an investigation into the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, as well as a special tribunal to hear the case when the investigation is completed.

Gilani, a senior official of Bhutto's party, was sworn in on Tuesday to head a coalition government made up of opponents of President Pervez Musharraf, whose allies were defeated in a February 18 election.

(Reporting by Patrick Worsnip; editing by Mohammad Zargham)