Karachi, Pakistan ? President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday invited Britain’s Scotland Yard to help investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, but his effort to defuse widespread suspicions of government complicity seemed unlikely to convince an angry nation.

Making his first national television appearance since Bhutto’s slaying last Thursday, the deeply unpopular U.S.-backed strongman also announced a delay – until Feb. 18 – for elections that were to have been held next Tuesday, and used conciliatory rhetoric in reaching out to the political opposition.

Musharraf, who had previously resisted any form of international investigation, suggested that British police would play only a supporting role in the investigation, saying they’d “help” their Pakistani colleagues.

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that Scotland Yard was sending only a small team from its counterterrorism branch to support the investigation. It said British detectives were uncertain how much they could achieve since nearly all the forensic evidence at the crime scene has been lost and there’s little usable film footage of the attack.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino indicated that British police would be acting as consultants. “We certainly welcome Pakistan’s decision to consult U.K. expertise,” she said. She said it was important that a “transparent and comprehensive” investigation proceeded quickly.

Musharraf attempted in his appearance to salvage his sinking popularity by reaching out to Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party and the other opposition.

“Benazir Bhutto’s mission was to promote democracy and to struggle against extremism and terrorism. I assure you that my mission is exactly the same,” asserted the former army chief, who has run the Islamic insurgency-wracked country with an increasingly heavy hand since he took power in a 1999 coup. “This is a time for reconciliation, not confrontation.”

Musharraf said troops and paramilitary forces would remain deployed until the elections Feb. 18, and warned opposition groups against increasing the country’s “difficulties.”

The elections, he said, would be “free, fair, transparent and peaceful.”

Bhutto’s party and other opposition parties denounced the election delay, contending that it was intended to give the government time to rig the results.

But they agreed to participate, apparently confident that sympathy over Bhutto’s death would remain strong enough to sweep them to victory despite their convictions that the vote will be rigged.

“The greatest rigging in the world is where you kill the leader of the party,” exclaimed Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who was elevated along with their 19-year-old son to lead the party.

The decision by Bhutto’s party and other major opposition groups to take part could help avert more of the violence that paralyzed Pakistan for three days after Bhutto’s death.

“People should express their anger through their ballots,” Zardari said.