s ISLAMABAD, Jan 6 The party of assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto said on Sunday that President Pervez Musharraf's admission that she might have been killed by a gunman underscored the need for a UN probe.

In an interview with the US television network CBS President Musharraf admitted for the first time that Ms Bhutto could have been shot. She died in a gun and suicide bomb attack as she left a campaign rally in Rawalpindi on December 27. Her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has insisted ever since that she was shot.

Mr Musharraf's comments, however, contradict the interior ministry's official finding that the gunman missed his target and Ms Bhutto died from bashing her head against the car's sunroof as she ducked for cover. The president told the CBS programme “60 Minutes,” in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, that a gunshot could have been the cause of Ms Bhutto's fatal injuries after all.

Asked if Ms Bhutto might have been shot, he answered “Yes, absolutely, yes. Possibility.”

PPP supporters, many of whom believe the authorities know more than they are saying about the murder of the head of Pakistan's most popular political dynasty, were furious at the about-turn.

“The regime is constantly changing its position and that reinforces doubts and suspicions and lends credence to demands by the PPP for an independent inquiry under UN auspices,” party spokesman Farhatullah Babar told AFP.

Musharraf has invited Scotland Yard to help investigate the murder but has ruled out PPP demands for an UN-led probe.

Video footage of the attack shows a gunman firing several rounds at Ms Bhutto from a pistol at close range as she waved to supporters from the roof of her car after a political rally.

None of the images clearly show her being hit, although from one angle her headscarf appears to flick out. Seconds after the gunman opened fire bombs exploded near Ms Bhutto's car.

The government quickly blamed a tribal leader, Baitullah Mehsud, linked to Al Qaeda but he has denied any role in the attack.

“I feel that there is a skeleton in the cupboard of the government and that's why they have been changing their stance,” another senior PPP leader, Babar Awan, said.

“From day one we have been saying that she was shot. It was a conspiracy, a plan executed -- we have absolutely no doubts about it.”

Interior ministry spokesman Brig (Retd) Javed Cheema, who announced the government's initial findings that Ms Bhutto had not been shot, told AFP “Whatever the president has said, it must have been right. I cannot add anything to it. The investigations are continuing now and when these are concluded we will share the findings with the public.”

Musharraf also told CBS, according to advance extracts, that Ms Bhutto only had herself to blame for her death.

“For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone. No body else. Responsibility is hers,” he said.—AFP