M A I N   N E W S

11 French killed in Pak

Rescue workers remove an unidentified foreign national from a bus after an explosion in Karachi on Wednesday. — Reuters photo

Islamabad, May 8
Thirteen persons, including 11 French nationals, working on a submarine project in Pakistan were killed in a suicide attack in Karachi which the authorities say might have been carried out by the Al-Qaida.

A suicide bomber drove an explosive-laden car into the navy bus that was parked at Shereton Hotel in Karachi to take the French nationals to the city’s dockyard, killing 12 and injuring 20.

“It could have been carried out by Al-Qaida,” Inspector-General of Police of Sind Kamal Shah said.

“It could be sabotage. We cannot rule out the involvement of the Al-Qaida. But we suspect India too,” the Sind police chief said.

The driver of the car used for the attack was among the killed. “The explosion was so loud, it was frightening,” police officer Munir Sheikh said.

The blast shattered the bus and created a large crater. It caused immense damage to a neighbouring building and the hotel.

French President Jacques Chirac has strongly condemned the attack and asked his Defence Minister to leave for Karachi.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf telephoned his French counterpart and “offered deep condolences over the tragic incident and promised to trace culprits. PTI

Al-Qaida men ‘behind’ Karachi blast
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 8
The needle of suspicion in the powerful bus explosion in Karachi today in which 14 persons, including nine French, were killed, points to Al-Qaida sympathisers, according to credible information received here through diplomatic channels.

The Karachi terror attack also signals the revival of Islamic militancy in Pakistan in a big way and portends trouble for President Pervez Musharraf.

Well-placed sources told The Tribune that the Karachi attack was the work of the Al-Qaida sympathisers based in Pakistan’s politically volatile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in protest against the recently launched joint US-Pakistan operation against the Al-Qaida cadres and searches of madarsas.

The sources said tribals in south Waziristan in FATA formed armed battalions and even raised commando units to resist joint US-Pak operations. Jamait-ul-Ulema-Islami (JUI) Pakistan chief Fazlur Rahman warned that operations in the tribal areas would push the entire country towards a civil war and anarchy.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed has gone on record saying that the Pakistani Army, instead of protecting the country’s borders, was guarding US commandos.

As a warning, the tribals had caused two powerful explosions in tank headquarters of south Waziristan where US and Pakistan military forces are carrying out joint operations. One of the bombs was planted in the office of the political agent while the second explosion took place in an open space after a gap of three hours.

About 10 days ago, the tribals had also fired a rocket on a building which they suspected housed US troops. Last week, they had also displayed their weapons and warned the Pakistan government that they should stop searches on madarsas.

The Karachi incident is interpreted as a strike against the Musharraf regime. It is understood that more such attacks, targeting westerners, are likely to take place in the near future. The March 17 Islamabad church attack and the brutal murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl are seen as part of this chain.

There are credible reports to suggest that Al-Qaida supremo Osama bin Laden is hiding in the Bajour area of FATA which is directly controlled by the government of Pakistan.