Click to play videoLondon: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's son on Tuesday called for a UN-sponsored investigation of her assassination and demanded that the media respect his privacy.
In his first full press conference after taking over as Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chief last week, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticised the lengths some journalists had gone to in tracking down his personal details.
"When I am at Oxford I hope I can be left alone," the 19-year-old said looking relaxed after a tense start before the cameras.
"I have been distressed by the length journalists have gone to access comments about me on the social networking site Facebook. As you will know by now, several duplicate profiles exist in my name and so I am sure your investigative skills would have determined which are true and which are false."
"On behalf of my sisters in Dubai, I should also like to request you to respect their privacy," he said. Bilawal’s two sisters, Aseefa and Bakhtawa, live in Dubai.
"My mother was always very open with the press and I am only too willing to give time to talk to journalists and I should like to continue a good relationship but in moderation, not only for my own sake, but also for the sake of my fellow students at the college. I am perfectly prepared to schedule press conferences such as this but when I am at Oxford, I hope that I can be left alone.
Bhutto firmly rejected questions about the "undemocratic nature" of his PPP succession. "I do not claim to have any aspiration. I was called and I stepped up to do what I was asked to do," he said.
"It wasn't handed on like some piece of family furniture. They asked me to do it and I did," said Bilawal.
The third generation scion of the Bhutto family also said the threat of violence did not stop him from taking over as party chief. "How many Bhuttos can you kill? From every house a Bhutto will come," he said.
Bilawal said he had agreed to take over from his mother because "politics is in my blood." But he added: "My experience is limited... I intend to learn."
In his opening statement he himself asked: "Why have I become chairman of the Pakistan People's Party founded by my grandfather 40 years ago?
He said this is because it was recognised at this moment of crisis the party needed a close association with my mother through the bloodline. "To those of you who consider it odd that 19-year-old should assume such a position as the chairmanship of a political party, my response is as follows: my position was based on the collective will of the party," he said.
Bilawal rejected the Pakistan government’s probe into his mother’s assassination.
“I appreciate that detectives from Scotland Yard have gone to assist the investigations, however the family's and parties request is for new investigation because we don’t believe that investigation which is under the authority of Pakistan government has necessary transparency. Already so much forensic evidence has been destroyed,” Bilawal said.
He criticised the US government's support of President Pervez Musharraf as a key ally in its ''war on terror.''
''I believe that the problem is that dictatorships feed extremism, and once the United States stops supporting dictators we can successfully tackle the extremist problem as well,'' he said.
(With PTI and AP)
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