Pelosi demanded an international investigation into the Dec. 27 assassination of Bhutto which the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s government has blamed on al-Qaeda.

However Bhutto’s party rejects the government’s allegation and blames Musharraf’s government for not being able to protect her.

Pelosi stated that according to the US law, the US could give financial aid to Pakistan if Islamabad cooperates to bring down terrorism.

«The refusal by the Musharraf government to accept international assistance with the investigation of the assassination of former prime minister Bhutto, and recent reports that previous US aid to Pakistan has been misspent, raise troubling questions about whether those conditions are being met,» she said in a statement.

«These questions must be addressed by the Bush administration before any additional US aid is sent to the Musharraf government,» she added.

Bush has urged Musharraf to go ahead with the Jan. 8th elections in honor of Bhutto’s memory.

However, the White House spokesman says that it is up to the Pakistani authorities to determine the timing.