Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday gave a week's time to central and provincial officials to submit a report on the deadly suicide attack on former premier Benazir Bhutto's [Images] motorcade in Karachi.

A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry began a hearing after taking suo motu action on the October 18 attack on Bhutto's homecoming procession in Karachi that killed nearly 140 people.

It sought a report within a week from senior officials of Sindh province and the federal interior secretary Syed Kamal Shah.

The matter was adjourned till November 8.

The apex court had on Wednesday said it will probe the incident to bring the perpetrators to book and restore the people's confidence in the government.

The court had said "no clue has so far been found explaining the reasons and the persons involved" even though more than a week had passed.

Chaudhry has been at the centre of a confrontation between the judiciary and President Pervez Musharraf [Images] since the General unsuccessfully tried to sack him.

Though Pakistan is "already in the grip of suicidal bombing and other terrorist acts, yet this is the most chilling and dreadful incident of its kind, targeting the entire leadership of a major political party of the country, and resulting in the unprecedented" casualties, a statement issued by the Supreme Court on Wednesday said.

It also noted that Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party "has not only shown its strongest reservations over the way the investigation is being carried out, but also expressed doubts as to the capacity of the administration to do so."