Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a letter to Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's President and Ms. Bhutto's widower, informing him of the start of the Commission of Inquiry, Mr. Ban's spokesperson said in a statement.

The Commission, headed by Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz of Chile, will have a mandate of six months and will be fact-finding in nature, as noted by the Secretary-General in February, when he announced his intention to set up the probe.

“The duty of determining criminal responsibility of the perpetrators of the assassination remains with the Pakistani authorities,” said today's statement.

The other members of the Commission, set up in response to a request from the Pakistani Government, is Marzuki Darusman, former Attorney General of Indonesia, and Peter Fitzgerald, a veteran of the Irish National Police who has served the UN in a number of capacities.

The Commission will submit its report to the Secretary-General within six months of the start of its work. Mr. Ban will share the report with the Government and submit it to the Security Council for information.

Noting that the anniversary of Ms. Bhutto's birth is this Sunday, the statement added that the UN is committed to assisting Pakistan by determining the facts and circumstances of her death.#