Bombing In Pakistan

[Joemailman]

Bhutto escapes bomb attacks

Bhutto returns to Pakistan after 8-year exile
Benazir Bhutto made a dramatic return to Pakistan on Thursday, ending eight years of exile to launch an ambitious political comeback, as tens of thousands of supporters gathered to greet her amid massive security.
20 bodies scattered round site of blast in Karachi
Oct 18, 2007 03:58 PM
Reuters
KARACHI — Two explosions hit former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s convoy today, killing more than 20 people as she returned to Pakistan from eight years in self-imposed exile.

Television channels said Bhutto was safe and had left the truck that had been transporting her through roads thronged by hundreds of thousands of people.

Militants linked to Al Qaeda, angered by Bhutto’s support for the United States war on terrorism, had threatened to assassinate her.

Bhutto returned to lead her Pakistan People’s Party into national elections meant to return the country to civilian rule.

Soon after arriving Bhutto, boarded the truck designed to withstand a blast in case of attack.

Dressed in a green kameez, a loose tunic, her head covered by a white scarf, Bhutto had stood in plain view on top of the vehicle, ignoring police advice to stay behind its bullet proof glass, as it edged through crowds waving the red, black and green tricolour of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Some 20,000 security personnel were deployed to provide protection.

It's been reported that a car right in front of a bus carrying Bhutto exploded, with at least 30 now reported dead. Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility.

[BallHawk]

Hmm, can't say I'm surprised. Bhutto has some pretty strong supporters, but she is not without her enemies, considering that when she was there her government was as corrupt as they come.

[LL2]

Can't these people have protest and disagreements without blowing each other up?

[BallHawk]

Can't these people have protest and disagreements without blowing each other up?

Actions speak louder than words.

[Joemailman]

Hmm, can't say I'm surprised. Bhutto has some pretty strong supporters, but she is not without her enemies, considering that when she was there her government was as corrupt as they come.

I don't think this bombing had anything to do with corruption in the past. This was an attack by radical Islamists who consider her an ally of the U.S. She has talked very strongly about the need to deal with terrorism.

By the way, the AP is reporting the death toll is now over 100. This likely was an inside job. There is nothing new about people with Al-Qaeda sympathies having roles in the government in Pakistan.

[oregonpackfan]

Part of the reason for the attack on Bhutto by radical Islamists is because she is the "Wrong" gender. Fundamentalist Islamists cannot accept a woman as a leader.

[Harlan Huckleby]

She negotiated her return to Pakistan with Mushariff. I haven't followed this, but I guess the idea is that Musharif wants to keep most of his power, remain commander of the military, and let Bhutto pursue the presidency. It really is quite the corrupt little arrangement they got worked out. But I guess they need each other. Bhutto needs the protection of the military (as you can see), and Mushariff needs a front to take the heat, he's become unpopular.

God, Pakistan is in awful shape.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Part of the reason for the attack on Bhutto by radical Islamists is because she is the "Wrong" gender. Fundamentalist Islamists cannot accept a woman as a leader.

Maybe this is true, funny I didn't think about this. She was President of Pakistan before (back in the 80's?) when her father, a military strongman, died. Or maybe that was her husband. And Indira Ghanda in India set a precedent for female leaders in that neighborhood. But probably you are right.

[Freak Out]

Nothing like a nice welcome home. Over a hundred dead from the latest report.

[Joemailman]

Bhutto: ‘I Know Exactly Who Wants To Kill Me’
by Declan Walsh and Mark Tran

Benazir Bhutto today accused supporters of Pakistan’s former military dictator, General Zia-ul-Haq, for the assassination attempt that turned her homecoming into a bloodbath.1019 04

“I know exactly who wants to kill me,” she told the French magazine, Paris-Match.

“They are dignitaries of General Zia’s former regime who are behind extremism and fanaticism.”

Nobody has so far claimed responsibility for one of Pakistan’s deadliest bombings, which killed at least 136 people and injured 290.

In a press conference in Karachi, Ms Bhutto said she had not wanted all her top party leadership to travel in her truck as “I knew” there might be an assassination attempt.

Ms Bhutto, who praised those who died while protecting her as heroes, said she did not blame the government for the attack but called for an inquiry as to why street lights had been switched off during her procession.

“If the street lights had been on,” she said “We would have spotted the suicide bombers… The guards had floodlights on but it was difficult to scan the crowds as there were so many people”.

Denouncing her would-be assassins as trying to destroy Pakistan and of damaging Islam, she said: “It is against our religion to kill innocent people”.

The Pakistani government has blamed Islamist militants for the assassination attempt and police are focusing on militants linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida based in tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, where they have stepped up attacks on Pakistani troops.

But Ms Bhutto pointed to the Pakistan’s powerful intelligence services, the ISI.

General Zia seized power in a coup against Ms Bhutto’s father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in 1977. The general, who died in a mysterious plane crash in 1988, had Mr Bhutto tried on trumped-up charges and executed.

“We have to purge elements still present in our services,” she said. “Many went into retirement and then were taken back. Today they hold much power. For them I represent a danger: if I bring back democracy to the country, they will lose influence”.

The Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharraf, said he was “deeply shocked” by the attack and condemned it “in the strongest possible words”.

Gen Musharraf, who has survived several assassination attempts, appealed for calm and promised an exhaustive investigation and severe punishment for those responsible.

Well before Ms Bhutto’s return, threats had been made against her. Two weeks ago, Baitullah Masood, one of the most active Taliban commanders in the north-west region of Pakistan, vowed to send suicide bombers to kill her.

Another Taliban commander, Haji Omar, told Reuters: “She has an agreement with America. We will carry out attacks on Benazir Bhutto as we did on General Pervez Musharraf.”

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

Manzoor Mughal, a senior police official involved in the investigation, told Reuters that the first of last night’s blasts had been caused by a hand grenade. “The second was the suicide attack,” he said. “The attacker ran into the crowd and blew himself up.”

The bombings happened shortly after midnight, more than 10 hours after Ms Bhutto had arrived from Dubai. She escaped unhurt and was evacuated to her residence in the city.

A procession that had attracted several hundred thousand of her supporters was abandoned in chaos. Eight hours’ earlier, the opposition leader had flown into Karachi, ending eight years of self-imposed exile in Dubai and London.

Last night’s attack is likely to deepen the ongoing political crisis against the backdrop of a surge in Islamist violence.

Local television stations captured the two blasts, which occurred in quick succession near a heavily-protected truck carrying Ms Bhutto and her party leaders.

Television footage showed onlookers running towards the vehicle after the first blast, only to be caught in the second explosion. Party official Qasim Zia said Ms Bhutto had descended into the vehicle to use the bathroom at the time of the explosion.

TV stations showed graphic images of mutilated bodies lying on a street littered with debris, body parts and lumps of charred flesh. A blazing police vehicle stood beside the deserted Bhutto truck, which was emblazoned with the slogan “Long Live Bhutto”.

“People were shouting for help, but there was no one to help them out. It smelled like blood and smoke,” the Associated Press photographer, B K Bangash, who was 50 metres from the explosion, said.

The government had mounted a huge security operation to protect Ms Bhutto, who was travelling to the tomb of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, where she planned to give a speech.

Around 20,000 security personnel lined the route and sophisticated anti-bomb jamming devices were fitted to her vehicle. Mobile phone signals were blocked in the area and armed bodyguards accompanied the truck.

The rooftop had been fitted with a bullet-proof enclosure but she spent most of the day standing at the front, chatting to party officials and waving to wellwishers.

Many of the dead were thought to be police and party security officials who had formed a moving security cordon around the vehicle. A local television cameraman also died.

Ms Bhutto’s information secretary, Sherry Rehman, and the Punjab parliamentarian Abida Hussain were seen being carried away by officials.

Government security officials met in Islamabad last night to discuss further measures to protect Ms Bhutto, who had planned to hold a rally in her home town, Larkana, this weekend.

The Taliban had threatened to kill her after she suggested that she would help US troops to hunt for Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida fugitives inside Pakistan.

Intelligence reports suggested that at least three groups with al-Qaida or Taliban links were plotting suicide attacks, according to a provincial official quoted by Reuters.

Ms Bhutto returned from exile hoping to win a third term as prime minister at general elections due to be held by mid-January. With encouragement from the US, she has been holding power-sharing talks with Gen Musharraf.

Speaking from Dubai, her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, implied that members of the Pakistani security services, the ISI, were responsible. “I blame government for these blasts,” he told Aryone World Television. “It is the work of the intelligence agencies.”

Pakistan’s deputy information minister, Tariq Azim Khan, said Ms Bhutto had disregarded warnings to delay her return.

“She was given friendly advice she should delay her return,” he said. “Obviously, she did not take it.”

Asked what extra measures the government could possibly have taken given the size of the crowd, he said: “There can never be 100% foolproof security, but you can provide extra efforts. We tried to make the maximum effort possible.”

The attack will be seen as a wider assault on the political system in Pakistan. Violent extremists have gathered force in the country this year. In July, an eight-day siege of the extremist Red Mosque in Islamabad in July left more than 100 people dead.

After arriving home, Ms Bhutto said she would help the country to defeat extremism. “That’s not the real image of Pakistan. The people that you see outside are the real image of Pakistan,” she added.

“These are the decent and hardworking middle-classes and working classes of Pakistan who want to be empowered so they can build a moderate, modern nation.”

Last night’s violence could endanger her power-sharing talks with Gen Musharraf, who has threatened to impose emergency rule or martial law if his plans to retain power are frustrated.



I suspect Bhutto is wrong. This sounds like Al-Qaeda and/or Taliban to me. But you never know. She certainly doesn't lack for enemies.

[Joemailman]

Musharraf Imposes Emergency Rule; Suspends Pakistani Constitution

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf has declared emergency rule and suspended the country’s constitution.

Troops have been deployed inside state-run TV and radio stations, while independent channels have gone off air.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who condemned the moves, has reportedly been sacked and is being confined to the Supreme Court with 10 other judges.

It comes as the court was due to rule on the legality of Gen Musharraf’s re-election victory in October.

The Court was to decide whether Gen Musharraf was eligible to run for election last month while remaining army chief.

The BBC’s Barbara Plett reports from Islamabad that fears have been growing in the government that the Supreme Court ruling could go against Gen Musharraf.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who recently returned to the country after years of self-exile to lead her party in the elections, was in Dubai on a personal visit when news of the declaration broke.

However, she immediately boarded a flight back to Pakistan in response, landing in Karachi.

Her return from self-imposed exile last month came about with the co-operation of Gen Musharraf.

Our correspondent says in the changed circumstances she will have to decide whether she is returning to lead the opposition against the president, or should wait on the sidelines in the hopes of securing an agreement with him.

Pakistan has been engulfed in political upheaval in recent months, and the security forces have suffered a series of blows from pro-Taleban militants opposed to Gen Musharraf’s support for the US-led “war on terror”.

Pakistan’s Cabinet is currently meeting to approve Gen Musharraf’s declaration of emergency rule. He is expected to address the nation later.

A leading lawyer and opposition figure, Aitzaz Ahsan, told reporters that he had been detained as the emergency powers were invoked. “They have served me a detention order for 30 days,” Mr Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

“One man has taken entire nation hostage… Time has come for General Musharraf to go.”

Parliamentary elections are due in January - it is not clear whether they will go ahead.

Copyright 2007 BBC

Obviously Musharraf is hanging on by his fingernails. We should be worried more about Pakistan than we are about Iran.

[Freak Out]

I heard this morning that he had suspended the constitution and figured the shit was going to hit the fan. I know there was some major fighting going on in the tribal areas as well.

[the_idle_threat]

Funny that you guys are looking directly at an actual example of fascism, and yet you wanna call a little information sharing "fascist."

What are the odds, in your estimation, that an American president could suspend the Constitution, declare himself military ruler, and essentially imprison the Supreme Court?

How about zero?

[Kiwon]

It would be a disaster if the Musharraf government falls and Pakistan descends into chaos which is exactly the PR victory the jahists need to recruit more members after all their threats against the government.

I expect the next president, probably Hillary, will have her hands full trying to contain the damage and limit the threat.

[Joemailman]

Funny that you guys are looking directly at an actual example of fascism, and yet you wanna call a little information sharing "fascist."

What are the odds, in your estimation, that an American president could suspend the Constitution, declare himself military ruler, and essentially imprison the Supreme Court?

How about zero?

I'm not worried it will happen with Bush. However, if we continue to ignore assaults on our constitution by the central government, it could happen here someday. The Constitution is the source of the freedoms we claim to cherish, and if we allow the Constitution to be weakened, we start to sacrifice those freedoms.