Karachi carnage mars Bhutto’s dream return

Karachi: The Pakistan government blamed Islamist militants for the twin blasts on Friday night that killed 138 people as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto drove through the streets of Karachi with the masses supporting here.

Bhutto, travelling in a truck reinforced to withstand bomb attacks, escaped unhurt.

The attack underscored the turbulence which lay in store for Pakistan ahead of an election due by January, but it was unclear how the assassination attempt might affect a possible power-sharing deal between Bhutto and President Pervez Musharraf.

The grenade and suicide attack struck Bhutto’s motorcade as it edged through hundreds of thousands of well-wishers who had stayed up late into the night to welcome the two-time prime minister back to Pakistan after years of self-imposed exile.

There was no claim of responsibility. But police were investigating whether the attack had links to tribal regions bordering Afghanistan which have become hotbeds of support for al Qaeda and the Taliban.

“Definitely, it is the work of the militants and terrorists,” Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said, adding it was too early to say which group was involved.

Interior Ministry Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said 138 people had been killed and around 300 wounded, in what was the second most deadly suicide bombing of 2007, and most deadly outside a war-zone. “The first blast was caused by a hand grenade. The second was the suicide attack,” Manzoor Mughal, a senior police official involved in the investigation, said. “The attacker ran into the crowd and blew himself up.”

Bomber’s head found

Mughal said the head of the suspected bomber had been found, and it was estimated he had 15 to 20 kg of explosives strapped to his body. Typically the upward force from a blast blows off the head of an attacker.

Militants linked to Qaeda, angered by Bhutto’s support for the US war on terrorism, had this week threatened to assassinate her, and officials said there were intelligence reports of plots by three separate groups.

Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, accused Pakistani intelligence agencies of involvement in the attack on his wife, and there are many Pakistanis who shared his suspicions.

Bhutto, 54, has plenty of enemies in Pakistan with links to the country’s security apparatus and jihadi groups, going back to her two stints in power more than a decade ago.

PRESIDENTIAL SUPPORT

Musharraf had given some support for Bhutto’s return and the two might end up sharing power after the general election.

Musharraf said in a statement the attack was “a conspiracy against democracy”.

The scale of Thursday’s reception for Bhutto proved she has the mass appeal no other leader can muster despite being out of power for 10 years, and out of Pakistan for eight.

Most shops in Karachi stayed shut on Friday, schools were closed, there were no buses and few taxis, and many people stayed at home following the carnage overnight.

This is a battle for democracy: Bhutto

Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto on Friday strongly condemned bomb attacks on her homecoming parade in Karachi, saying her followers had made the “ultimate sacrifice” for democracy.

“The PPP strongly condemns the attacks on its peaceful procession last [Thursday] night resulting in the killing of about 140 people and injuring many hundreds more,” Bhutto told a press conference.

“Our hopes, prayers and sympathy lie with those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of democracy. Their sacrifice will not go in vain,” she said.

Bhutto said the attack struck at the very unity of troubled Pakistan.

“This is a battle for democracy,” she said. “For me the attack was not on an individual. The attack was not on me, it was on what I represent. It was an attack on democracy and it was an attack on the very unity and integrity of Pakistan,” she added.

Bhutto also called for an urgent inquiry into the incident. - afp

World condemns attack

• India: Such acts of violence and terrorism are totally unacceptable in any civilised society
— Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

• We are horrified by the loss of innocent life caused by the terrorist attack on your convoy and the injuries to some of your senior colleagues.
— Satyabrata Pal, India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan

• US: The US condemns the violent attack in Pakistan and mourns the loss of innocent life there.
— Gordon Johndroe, White House national security spokesman

• Russia: This was a vile crime and one more tragic confirmation of the need for further unity among the world community in the fight against international terrorism and extremism.
— President Vladimir Putin

• China: We sternly condemn the explosion. We hope Pakistan will maintain social stability.
— Liu Jianchao, foreign ministry spokesman

• Afghanistan: The bombing showed the need for the strongest attention to the fight against
terrorism.
— President Hamid Karzai

• Australia: It is a reminder of the evil of al Qaeda
— Prime Minister John Howard

• Britain: It is a tragedy that so many people died .. It is a tragedy that these events have happened as people have been planning elections in Pakistan.
— Prime Minister Gordon Brown

• France: I urge Pakistani authorities to ensure the process ahead of legislative elections is conducted in the best possible circumstances.
— President Nicolas Sarkozy

- agencies

Source: mumbaimirror.com