Asia Times: India/Pakistan


	May 9, 2002	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Karachi suicide bombing 'just the beginning'
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - The Pakistani port city of Karachi on Wednesday felt what many believe to be the beginning of a campaign of unrest as a result of President General Pervez Musharraf allowing US troops into the country's sensitive tribal areas to look for Taliban and al-Qaeda suspects.

Shortly before 8 am, a suspected suicide bomber in a car killed at least 10 French and two Pakistani nationals when a bomb ripped through a navy bus as it was picking up the French nationals from the Sheraton Hotel, where they were staying while maintaining submarines for the Pakistani government.

Karachi has also been targeted by Pakistani and US intelligence officials for a crackdown as it is considered a hub for al-Qaeda activities. Wednesday's tragedy is the first-ever suicide attack in the city.

According to the latest reports, 12 people died and more than 20 people were wounded by the blast, which reduced the bus to a smoking skeleton and scattered body parts across the street.

Talking to Asia Times Online, Shafiqur Rehman Paracha, Divisional Coordination Officer (the chief executive of city administration), said that the dead are thought to include the suicide attacker and that at least three kilograms of explosive must have been used as a huge crater was caused and the explosion could be heard more than 10 kilometers away.

Police initially blamed the attack on a suicide bomber, but subsequently they further implied that the incident was a terrorist activity and that the bomb's timer was faulty.

French President Jacques Chirac strongly condemned the incident, saying that his defense minister would leave immediately for Karachi. In a statement, Chirac said that he "unreservedly condemns this despicable act, which nothing can justify".

The New Zealand national cricket team, which was staying in a nearby hotel and due to begin a five-day test match in Karachi on Wednesday, called off the tour and said it was heading for home.

Karachi has been the scene of many sectarian killings in recent times but there have been only a few incidents of foreigners being targeted, most notably the kidnapping and slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Pakistani intelligence sources said that as soon as Pakistan agreed to allow US operators into the tribal areas to hunt for al-Qaeda and Taliban elements, they feared a backlash. And in Sindh province, in which Karachi is located, senior officers from the Home Department have been opposed to any security operations, especially those involving US personnel. The federal government had instructed the Sindh government to launch operations in an Afghan refugee camp in coordination with US forces. Those opposed to the move were convinced that it would set off a violent reaction, which appears to have been borne out by Wednesday's attack.

And religious parties in North West Frontier Province are said to be preparing for demonstrations, indicating that Musharraf, after winning another five years in power following a referendum last week, has some troubled times ahead.

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