Pakistani police pass a truck set afire Saturday in Karachi during riots over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. President Pervez Musharraf has ordered his security chiefs to quell the rioting. (Tyler Hicks, The New York Times )
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan rejected foreign help Saturday in investigating the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, despite controversy over the circumstances of her death and three days of paralyzing turmoil.

The Islamic militant group blamed by officials for the attack denied any links to the killing Saturday, and Bhutto's aides accused the government of a coverup.

President Pervez Musharraf ordered his security chiefs to quell rioting by Bhutto's followers that has killed at least 44 people and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.

"Criminals should stop their despicable activities; otherwise, they will have to face serious consequences," Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said.

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People's Party called a meeting for today to possibly choose a new leader, decide whether to participate in Jan. 8 parliamentary elections and hear her last will and testament.

If the party pulls out, it would destroy the credibility of the poll, already being boycotted by rival opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. The U.S. government has pressured Musharraf, who seized power in a coup eight years ago, to push ahead with the election to promote stability in the nuclear armed nation, a key ally against Islamic extremism.

The riots have destroyed nine election offices — along with the voter rolls and ballot boxes inside, the election commission said.

Questions have intensified since a suicide attacker shot at Bhutto and then blew himself up Thursday evening as she waved to supporters from the sunroof of her armored vehicle outside a campaign rally.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that an international probe of the incident was vital because there was "no reason to trust the Pakistani government," and others called for a U.N. investigation.

Cheema dismissed the suggestion.

"This is not an ordinary criminal matter in which we require assistance of the international community.

An angry supporter of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto runs for shelter after police fired tear gas shell during a protest rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Friday, Dec 28, 2007. Bhutto's supporters rampaged through cities to protest her assassination less than two weeks before a crucial election, ransacking banks and setting train stations ablaze, officials said. (AP | Anjum Naveed)
I think we are capable of handling it," he said. An independent judicial investigation should be completed within seven days of the appointment of its presiding judge, he said.

U.S. officials, however, said Pakistani officials have quietly begun consulting with other nations about the conduct of their investigation.

"The Pakistan government is discussing with other governments as to how best the investigation can be handled," one senior U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no agreement had yet come from the discussions.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Pakistan had not asked the United States for help.

The government blamed the attack on Baitullah Mehsud, head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban, a newly formed coalition of Islamic militants believed to be linked to al-Qaeda.

But a Mehsud spokesman, Maulana Mohammed Umer, called the allegations "government propaganda. Baitullah Mehsud is not involved in the killing of Benazir Bhutto."