A UN fact-finding commission has officially begun an inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistani Premier Benazir Bhutto, 18 months after her death.

The three-member United Nations commission convened an inquiry on Wednesday into the assassination of Bhutto.

The panel, led by the Chilean ambassador to the UN, Heraldo Munoz, will examine the facts and circumstances of the murder.

Bhutto was targeted in a suicide gun-and-bomb attack in December 2007 as she was leaving an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Her killing threw the country into crisis and left questions unresolved for Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and many of her supporters.

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf had refused to seek a UN probe into her controversial killing

PPP, led by her widower Asif Ali Zardari, rode a wave of sympathy to win a February 2008 election.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that he thinks Bhutto’s killing was part of a big international conspiracy.

It was not clear whether UN commission would be able to appropriately address all the queries surrounding Bhutto’s assassination.

The panel has a six-month mandate to present its report.