RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN — More than six months after Benazir Bhutto's assassination, the Pakistani authorities' investigation of her killing appears to have ground to a near-halt, with the trail growing colder.
The elegant and charismatic former prime minister, one of the most popular politicians in Pakistan's history, was killed Dec. 27 as she left a campaign rally at a park in Rawalpindi, the seat of the Pakistani military.
Her death at 54 stunned Pakistan and the world, but no independent Pakistani commission has been appointed to investigate the assassination, and police activity is barely sputtering along, according to several people familiar with the case.
The investigation has stalled despite the fact that her Pakistan People's Party is now the senior partner in the country's governing coalition, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, wields enormous influence as the party's leader.
"It looks as if it's a forgotten chapter," said Talat Masood, a retired general who is now a political analyst. "The internal agencies are not very active and focused on it."
Baitullah Mahsud, the Taliban commander swiftly accused by the Pakistani government of masterminding the assassination, remains free in the country's tribal areas. Military officials say there has been no attempt to capture him. In May, he held a news conference before dozens of journalists.
Mahsud, who denies any involvement in Bhutto's slaying, has also engaged in truce talks with the new government.
Beyond accusing Mahsud, the government has made little visible headway. The cases of five people arrested in the weeks after Bhutto's death are being heard by a special anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi. But even the prosecution describes the accused as relatively low-level figures.
Naseer Ahmed Tanoli, lawyer for three of the five accused, says his clients have been tortured and prevented from seeing family members or getting legal counsel. The court proceedings are secret, and another session is scheduled for mid-July, lawyers said.
The key players in the killing -- those who financed the operation and recruited the assailants -- remain at large, said a senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Police have been ordered not to speak publicly about the case. Two senior officers backed out of an agreement to be interviewed about the status of the inquiry, saying they could not discuss it without the authorization of Rehman Malik, the top official in the Interior Ministry, Pakistan's civilian law enforcement agency.
