Pakistan makes "important arrests" in Bhutto slaying

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities announced two "important arrests" in the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Thursday, as her husband issued a rallying call to supporters ahead of an election his wife should have fought.

Polling was put off until Feb. 18 after the slaying of the most charismatic Pakistani politician of the past 20 years sucked oxygen out of campaigning and heightened international concern about mounting insecurity in the nuclear-armed country.

The arrests were made in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where two-time prime minister Bhutto was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack by a hit team Pakistani and U.S. intelligence believes was sent by a Taliban commander linked to al Qaeda.

"These are important arrests. Investigations are under way," Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said.

A senior police officer in Rawalpindi identified the suspects as Hasnain and Rifaqat, but gave no other details. The arrests follow two last month, including a 15-year-old youth who admitted being a back-up suicide bomber.

Conspiracy theories still swirl over who was behind the gun and suicide bomb attack that killed Bhutto.

Controversy also rages over whether Bhutto was killed by a bullet or by a concussive head injury caused by the bomb detonated after an assassin shot at her from close range.

A poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan found that almost half of all Pakistanis believe government agencies or politicians allied to President Pervez Musharraf were involved in the assassination.