Pakistan accuses al Qaeda of killing Bhutto

By Robert Birsel

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan accused al Qaeda of killing opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, whose assassination has plunged the nuclear-armed country into crisis and triggered bloody protests.

But Bhutto's party dismissed the official explanation and said President Pervez Musharraf's embattled administration was trying to cover up its failure to protect her.

Officials said at least 31 people had died in violence since a suicide attacker killed the 54-year-old former prime minister on Thursday, stoking fears a January 8 election meant to restore civilian rule in the U.S. ally could be put off.

"We have intelligence intercepts indicating that al Qaeda leader Baitullah Mehsud is behind her assassination," Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said on Friday.

Mehsud is one of Pakistan's most wanted militant leaders and is based in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border. Cheema said authorities recorded an intercept on Friday in which Mehsud had congratulated his people for the attack.

But Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party rejected the claim. A spokesman said the government must show solid evidence.

"The government is nervous," he said. "They are trying to cover up their failure" to provide adequate security.

Tens of thousands of Bhutto's supporters wept and beat their heads as she was laid to rest on Friday. Troops were called out to quell protests in her home province of Sindh, where she had huge support, particularly among the rural poor.