Fatima Bhutto, niece of the slain former Pakistani premier Benazir, has said in published comments that she will continue to pursue her aunt's widower Asif Ali Zardari, whom she accuses of involvement in her father's death.

Fatima Bhutto's father and Benazir's brother Murtaza was killed in 1996 in an ambush that Fatima blames on both Benazir and Zardari, who is now the head of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.

Fatima Bhutto told the Sunday Times in an interview that even though she was awaiting an acquital judgement for Zardari in the Pakistan courts, she would not give up a struggle to stand between Zardari and a clean record.

Zardari is set to be acquitted of four murder charges, including the one for Murtaza, and several corruption allegations under the terms of an agreement between Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and the late Benazir Bhutto.

The newspaper said the NRO, which dismisses all outstanding charges against political figures, had been signed by Musharraf under pressure from the US and been insisted upon by Benazir before returning to Pakistan last year.

Fatima Bhutto also blames Benazir for Murtaza's murder, telling the newspaper: "If she didn't sign the death warrant then who else had the power to cover it up? I would love to believe in the innocence of my aunt, but why else did she so obviously obstruct the investigation?"

A tribunal set up to probe the killing concluded the assassination could not have taken place without approval from the highest level of government.