The Pakistani government and police forces have been criticized for their involvement in Bhutto's assassination. In April, the independent UN commission formed to investigate the assassination issued a report [JURIST report] holding the Pakistani government and police forces responsible for failing to provide adequate security. The report also accused the government of failing to launch a proper investigation into the assassination. The three-member commission was formed [JURIST report] in June 2009. Members included former Chilean Ambassador to the UN Heraldo Munoz, former attorney general of Indonesia Marzuki Darusman, and Peter Fitzgerald, a former deputy police commissioner in the Irish National Police who has served with the UN in other capacities. Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in December 2007 that claimed the lives of at least 20 other people. At that time, Bhutto was the head of the opposition Pakistan People's Party, which was challenging then-prime minister Pervez Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) [party websites] in the lead-up to parliamentary elections.

Last month, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] temporarily blocked [JURIST report] portions of the immigration law, including Section 28, which requires immigration status checks of public school students, and Section 10, which makes it a misdemeanor for an illegal resident not to have immigration papers. The ruling came in response to a motion filed [JURIST report] by the DOJ and a coalition of immigrants rights groups after a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama [official website] twice refused to block the law [JURIST report] from taking effect. The DOJ argues that the "state regime contravenes the federal government's exclusive authority over immigration." Alabama state officials have defended the law [JURIST report] and argue that the state law is not preempted by federal immigration law and that the text reflects a "spirit of cooperation with the federal government." The state officials point out that the law contains mechanisms safeguarding against unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin and allegations suggesting provisions of the law would deter students from enrolling in school are speculative.