Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday his Government was committed to finding the truth behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and he vowed to punish her killers.

Musharraf, responding to calls to seek outside help with the investigation, last week asked Britain to assist and a team of British police arrived in Islamabad on Friday.

Musharraf met the Scotland Yard team on Tuesday and said the Government was committed to “unearthing the evidence, finding out the truth and bringing those responsible for this heinous crime to justice”.

“He assured the investigation team of fullest cooperation by all investigation agencies,” the Government quoted him as saying.

The British police said they were thoroughly sifting the evidence to ascertain the facts.

The Government has blamed al Qaeda for killing Bhutto, a staunch supporter of the US-led campaign against Islamist militancy, but many Pakistanis suspect her other enemies, perhaps from within shadowy security agencies, were involved.

The Pakistani detective, who solved the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl has joined the probe into the killing of Bhutto, officials said on Tuesday.

Zubair Mahmood will work with a team of British detectives investigating the Bhutto assassination, which plunged Pakistan into turmoil and forced the postponement of key elections, they said.

“He has joined the investigation and will coordinate with the Scotland Yard team,” a Government official said.

An Interior Ministry official said Mahmood’s experience in handling high-profile cases would be helpful the Bhutto murder investigations.