WASHINGTON, Jan 4: The government of Pakistan has not benefited from the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, conveyed US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher when asked to comment on speculations that those who benefit the most may have had a reason to kill her.

“It all points to the extremists,” said Mr Boucher in an interview to Dawn while talking about the circumstantial evidence he had seen so far.

On Thursday, President George W. Bush said that Ms Bhutto’s murder has “all the hallmarks” of Al Qaeda. Other US officials have also said they find reports of Baitullah Mehsud’s involvement in the assassination “very, very credible”, ruling out the possibility that the Musharraf government might have orchestrated the attack.

When reminded that Baitullah Mehsud has denied having a hand in Ms Bhutto’s death, one such official noted that “he has denied a lot of things recently”.

US officials also say that PPP’s claims about the government’s involvement only showed they were “very upset” with the current rulers. “I am not aware of anything that indicates to the government of Pakistan”, said an official who did not want to be identified.

In a situation like this, “the first place to look at … are the people who have been making the threats (to eliminate Ms Bhutto and other moderate Pakistani leaders)”, the official said.

Mr Boucher refused to get involved in the controversy but recalled that Al Qaeda had been after moderate Pakistani leaders. Asked who benefited the most from the assassination, Mr Boucher said: “I would say that nobody benefits from this murder, that it’s certainly a blow to the ordinary citizens of Pakistan.”

The assassination, he said, had produced a lot of questions about Pakistan’s stability and future and “it certainly has not put the government in a good position”.

He then explained how those working with the government were confident that working with it was part of helping Pakistan stand up and continue to make a successful democratic transition.

“I think the only people who do benefit are people who want to see instability in Pakistan, who want to impose their will on Pakistan in defiance of whatever the political, democratic process, might produce, people who don’t want to see democratically elected leaders in Pakistan; and that points to the extremists.”

Mr Boucher described Asif Zardari’s demand for a UN-led probe of the murder as one of a variety of ideas put forth by various people, but noted that Pakistan’s decision to invite Scotland Yard was “very positive” and will be “very useful”.

The United States, he said, had already offered to assist the probe and “I am sure they will ask if they need help”.

Asked if the government was not involved, why it washed away all the evidence, Mr Boucher said: “I have no idea but based on what I’ve heard from other incidents that seems to be standard practice, unfortunately.”

Mr Boucher explained that it was not right to describe the US “involvement” with Pakistan as its “commitment” to the Musharraf government when asked if Washington would continue to support Mr Musharraf after Ms Bhutto’s assassination.“Our support is for Pakistan, for Pakistan as a nation, and for Pakistan as a society to succeed.”

Mr Boucher noted that Pakistan was now making a successful transition to democracy, adding that all Pakistani leaders, including President Musharraf, and political parties should focus on how to make it successful.

The United States, he said, wanted to help Pakistan make the next elections as “credible and transparent as possible.”

Asked if a peaceful democratic transition in Pakistan was still possible, he said: “It is not only possible, but necessary.”

Mr Boucher disagreed with the suggestion that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had become more acceptable to the US after Ms Bhutto’s murder.

“I wouldn’t say anybody is more or less acceptable. I would say that we will work with whoever is elected in Pakistan through a democratic process, and our desire is to see a well founded democratically elected government.”

He said: “Our hope is that all the moderate parties will join together, and work together, for a successful transition, and a strongly based platform from which to fight terrorism.”

Reports in the US and Pakistani media have suggested that the United States was unwilling to trust Mr Sharif because of his links to religious parties, but Ms Bhutto’s murder has made him more acceptable to Washington.

“A lot of things are said about us”, said Mr Boucher while commenting on these reports. “Our view is that the Pakistani people need a chance to decide on their government. Whoever they decide on as the leader of Pakistan, we’ll work with that person and those people. Our goal is to work with a democratically elected government, whoever that would be.”

Mr Boucher rejected media reports that Washington encouraged Ms Bhutto to return home as incorrect.

“Nobody had to encourage her to go back to Pakistan”, he said. “She very much wanted to go back to Pakistan. She had been talking for a long time about trying to get back, to participate in politics, the political campaign. She knew what the risks were to going back, but she was very, very committed. She knew it was inherently dangerous to go back and campaign, but she absolutely wanted to be involved in Pakistani politics and a Pakistani democratic process.”

Mr Boucher said the US had made it very clear to Pakistan that having a free media was one of the essential parts of having a good election. “You’ve got 40 more days now (and) we want to see 40 days of progress” towards a free media.