Police have been ordered not to speak publicly about the case. Two senior officers reneged on an agreement to be interviewed about the status of the investigation, saying they could not discuss it without the authorisation of Rehman Malik, the top official in the Interior Ministry, top civilian law-enforcement agency. Malik was Bhutto’s senior security adviser at the time of the assassination, and his own decision-making about her security arrangements has been sharply criticised. Before taking power in elections, Bhutto’s party expressed deep skepticism about the government’s version of events surrounding the killing, including the conclusion that she was killed by the suicide bomb that hit her vehicle rather than by gunshots.

Bhutto’s party now says it has no plans to appoint an independent Pakistani commission, saying that only the UN can carry out a credible investigation. Many analysts believe the world body is unlikely to undertake such a mission.