Hillary calls for international probe, new US policy for Pak

Democrat Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has charged that the Pakistan regime under President Pervez Musharraf has "no credibility" and sought an "independent international" probe into the killing of Benazir Bhutto.

"I don't think the Pakistani government, at this time, under President Musharraf has any credibility at all. They have disbanded an independent judiciary, they have oppressed a free press," Senator Clinton said in an interview to CNN.

"Therefore, I'm calling for a full, independent, international investigation (into Bhutto's killing), perhaps along the lines of what the UN has been doing with respect to the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri in Lebanon." she said. The Senator from New York stressed "it is critically important that we get answers. Those answers are due, first and foremost, to the people of Pakistan — not only those who were supportive of Benazir Bhutto and her party, but every Pakistani, because we cannot expect to move towards stability without some reckoning as to who was responsible for this assassination".

Clinton said Bhutto's assassination put a harsh light on President George W Bush's approach in the region. "It is clear the Bush policy of giving Musharraf a blank check has failed," the New York senator said in Story City in north-central Iowa.

Another Democrat hopeful Barack Obama also leveled criticism at Musharraf. "We have poured billions of dollars in support to President Musharraf — and he has not focused on dealing with the terrorist threat that is growing," Obama said.

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