Evidence amassed by Scotland Yard sleuths, probing the killing of Benazir Bhutto, points towards al-Qaeda militants being responsible for the assassination of former Pakistan Premier, according to a media report here.

British officials have revealed that evidence collected by the Scotland Yard experts points towards al-Qaeda’s hand in the killing of Bhutto, The Sunday Times reported.

Musharraf was quick to blame the killing on Baitullah Mehsud, a Taliban commander in southern Waziristan tribal area with links to al-Qaeda. But, Mehsud has denied his involvement.

“Linking Mehsud to Bhutto’s assassination was done for strategic reasons and had nothing to do with the ground realities,” Sajjan Gohel, an expert on al-Qaeda, said.

“Although Mehsud has ideological sympathies with the Taliban, his influence does not extend beyond the tribal areas and he certainly does not have the resources to plan an attack in the centre of the country like the assassination of Bhutto.”

Some British and American officials believe that Mehsud is behind most of the suicide bombings in Pakistan.

Asked why Pakistani forces do not capture Mehsud, an official said: “It’s not so easy to go into tribal areas. Look what happened to the last lot of Pakistani soldiers who tried.”