Pakistan Views

Four people including a police officer was killed while number of others maimed in a car bomb blast near a police station in Mardan, second largest city of NWFP and hometown of the provincial chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti.The local Taliban have accepted the responsibility of the attack, saying it was carried out to avenge the killing of local commander at the hands of police in the city.According to reports the powerful explosion occurred at 6:00 am near City Police Station, Mardan in an unidentified car resulting in the killing of three people on the spot and inflicting injuries to dozen others. The deceased were included an Assistant Police Inspector (ASI) Farrukh Said and two passers-by while majority of the injured were stated to be police personnel.The explosion was so powerful that a room of the police station was collapsed leaving a number of police personnel injured who were shifted to hospitals in Mardan and provincial capital Peshawar.The Baitullah Mehsud headed local Taliban organisation has reportedly accepted the responsibility of the incident saying the blast was carried out to avenge the murder of a local commander at the hands of police. However, it said that the incident would not affect the ongoing negotiation process with the government.”The local police killed a Taliban commander, Hafiz Saeed-ul-Haq when he was attending a wedding ceremony,” Maulvi Mohammad Omar spokesman of Taliban Movement has reportedly claimed while talking to BBC. It worth mentioning here that attacks on police mobiles and police stations had occurred on a number of occasions in recent past. The local Taliban had accepted the responsibility of some incidents. But, the significance of the Friday attack was that it occurred a day after halting of such activities in Pakistan by Baitullah Mehsud.Meanwhile, the NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has condemned the bomb blast near Mardan city police station in the strongest words, and expressed his deep shock over the loss of precious lives in the incident. Hoti also announced a compensation of Rs 100,000 for those killed, Rs 50,000 for critically injured and Rs 25,000 for slightly injured.He termed the blast a plot to derail the peace process being initiated by the provincial government, saying such acts could not deter them from their commitment towards bringing peace in the province. “We are committed to establish writ of the government and will not spare those involved in such heinous rimes,” the chief minister said. Hoti expressed his full sympathies with the bereaved families and said all the resources will be utilised to bring the culprits behind the blast to justice.

Four people sustained serious injuries after an explosive device planted in a motorbike went off at Sohbatpur Railway Cross, Dera Allah Yar on Thursday, DPO Jaffarabad Khadim Hussein Rind said.According to reports, unknown miscreants had planted explosive in a motorbike and parked it near a railway cross at the hurt of Dera Allah Yar City.
As a result four people received critical injuries and were admitted to the civil hospital for treatment.

President Pervez Musharraf faced new calls for his resignation on Tuesday after a bomb killed 11 people here on late Monday.

The blast tore through a street market as President Musharraf was visiting Karachi, with officials saying it was intended to sow fear ahead of the February 18 polls, already delayed once by the martyrdom of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Benazir’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, was also in the city but there was no suggestion either man was targeted.

Opposition officials called for President Musharraf to resign in the wake of the latest of dozens of bombings that have rocked the country.

“The rulers must admit their failure and quit,” said Raja Zafar-ul Haq, chairman of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N).

He said the government’s weakness was encouraging militant violence.

“The bombings have destabilised the economy and tarnished the country’s image. There are people who are trying to destabilise the country but the government is doing nothing to deal with them,” he said.

Nawaz Sharif has repeatedly called for the president’s resignation since returning to the country from exile in November.

Police were on high alert in Karachi and thousands of rangers were fanning out across the city, officials said.

“We have deployed 10,000 personnel at all sensitive points and installations,” Paramilitary Rangers spokesman Captain Mohammad Fazal said, adding that another 4,000 were on standby.

The blast on Monday evening ripped through a busy intersection outside a Textile factory as workers were buying food on their way home.

“There was no specific target, it was just meant to kill ordinary civilians. The terrorists chose a soft target to spread panic and terrorise society,” interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema said.

Officials said the bloodshed was meant to force the government to push back the elections again, a move that could further undermine stability in the Pakistan.

In another incident on Monday, a crudely made bomb went off in the election office of Awami Nationalist Party (ANP) in Peshawar, wounding one person, police said.

A third bomb exploded in an open area of the southwestern industrial town of Hub, which borders Karachi, but caused no damage or casualties, police said.

Police and rangers were on high alert on Tuesday after a suicide bomber killed 11 people in Karachi in a bid to derail key February elections, officials said.

The bombing coincided with a visit to Karachi by President Pervez Musharraf and officials said it was intended to sow fear ahead of February 18 polls, already delayed once by the martyrdom of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Benazir’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, was also in the city but there was no suggestion either man was targeted.

“Police have been put on red alert and they will be assisted by Rangers (paramilitary forces),” Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi told AFP.

He said security forces were conducting random spot-checks on commuters and vehicles at all entry and exit points to Karachi.

“An investigation team has been formed and it has started its work,” he said.

The blast ripped through a crowd outside a clothes factory on late Monday.

Bomb disposal squad officer Munir Ahmed said the device appeared to have been locally made and might have been fitted with a timer.

“The bomb was planted close to the petrol tank of a motorcycle and has left a crater at the blast site,” Ahmed said.

It was the first bombing in Karachi since a double suicide attack on a parade to welcome Bhutto home from exile in October. Benazir survived that attack but 139 other people were killed.

Monday’s blast is already the third deadly bombing in Pakistan this year. The worst was a suicide attack in Lahore on Thursday that killed 22 policemen and three civilians.

In another incident on Monday, a crudely made bomb went off in the election office of Awami National Party (ANP) in Peshawar, wounding one person, police said.

Separately, a bomb exploded in an open area of the southwestern industrial town of Hub, which borders Karachi, but caused no damage or casualties, police said.

President Pervez Musharraf, Governor Sindh, Dr. Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister, Abdul Qadir Halipota, Governor Punjab, MQM Chief, Altaf Hussain and Amir Jama-i-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed have condemned the blast occurred here at Gul Ahmed Chowrangi, Quaidabad Monday evening.

President Musharraf received the news of the blast during a meeting. He termed the incident a deplorable act.

Sindh Governor, Dr. Ishrat- ul- Ebad Khan has strongly condemned the act of terrorism and expressed grief over the loss of lives and injuries to people.

He issued directives to the concerned authorities to take immediate care of the injured and provide them every possible medical facility.

He called upon the organisations responsible for maintenance of law and order to maintain vigil on suspects and take action against them without any discrimination.

Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (Rtd) Abdul Qadir Halepota has condemned the blast and ordered the concerned authorities for immediate investigation.

Governor Punjab, Khalid Maqbool described the blast as an unfortunate incident. He said those involved in the heinous crime are the enemies of Pakistan and humanity at large.

Chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM), Altaf Hussain, vehemently condemned the blast.
He expressed deep sorrow and grief at the deaths and injuries.

Altaf Hussain sympathised with the families whose near and dear ones lost lives or sustained injuries in the blast.

He also prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls ineternal peace and for the early recovery of the injured.

The MQM chief demanded of the authorities to bring to book those responsible for this dastardly act.

Amir Jaman-i-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, condemnining the incident said the nation has been left unprotected for being treated as the terrorists may please.

The government should decide to leave after happening of terrorist activities without stop.

Minister for Human Rights, Ansar Barni and Chief of ANP, Asfandyar Wali also condemned the blast in strongest terms.

The police have registered a case of Quaidabad blast, which left at least ten people killed and at least 50 were injured, against the unidentified miscreants.

The blast occurred in Karachi industrial area of Quaidabad near Gul Ahmed Chawrangi in Landhi Town.

“The death toll has risen to 10 and there are about 50 injured people,” Akhtar Zamin, the home minister for southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital said.

“This is the work of people who want to destabilise the country going towards holding of peaceful elections,” Zamin said.

Musharraf and caretaker premier Mohammedmian Soomro condemned the blast and expressed their grief for the loss of life.

At least 11 people, including three children, were killed and over 40 wounded in a bomb blast that ripped through a crowd outside a textile factory in Landhi’s Industrial Area late Monday evening.

Reports of firing and violence were received from various neighbourhoods as soon as the television channels broadcast news of the bombing which took place at Gul Ahmed Roundabout.

Soon after the bang the city wore a deserted look with vehicular traffic immensely jammed on main thoroughfares and Inspector General Sindh Police Azhar Ali Farooqui declaring high alert in the post-December 27 violence-hit metropolis.

– The blast ripped through a crowd outside a textile factory in Landhi.

– Officials say Musharraf and Zardari were far away from the scene. According to police sources, the bomb was fixed to a motorbike parked in a fruit market while some others believed that the bomb was planted in a pushcart. The injured were rushed to the Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical College and Hospital (JPMCH) and a nearby hospital by scores of Edhi and Cheepa ambulances who had reached the site within few minutes of the unfortunate incident, sources in the two welfare charities said.

“At least eight bodies and 52 injured were brought to the hospital,” sources in the hospital said. The Sindh government constituted a committee to investigate explosion. Condemnation of the deadly blast came from the president, prime minister, Sindh governor and chief minister and leaders of almost all political parties of the country.

AFP ADDS: Asif Ali Zardari, flew in to the city minutes before the bomb went off, although officials said both he and Musharraf were far away from the scene of the blast. “The bomb was planted on a motorbike and exploded outside a textile factory in the Landhi.

“I was leaving the factory when I heard a huge explosion and I saw several people lying in pools of blood on the road. There were more than 30 people who were hit by the blast,” eyewitness Rehman Malik told AFP.

“As soon as the bomb went off the electricity pylon caught fire and the lights went out. There were bodies lying all around and I could hear people screaming in the darkness,” he added. Wounded people covered in blood and with their clothes blown off by the force of the blast were brought to hospitals in ambulances and the back of pick-up trucks, an AFP reporter said. Gunfire erupted in the area in the wake of the attack.

The district is a stronghold of supporters belonging to a rival splinter group of a political party that supports Musharraf. Musharraf, who rarely leaves the capital Islamabad because of security concerns, was in the city to meet officials from the provincial caretaker government, officials said.

The blast on Monday was the first in the teeming metropolis of Karachi since a double suicide attack on a parade to welcome Benazir home from exile in October. Bhutto survived that attack but 139 people were killed.

However it is already the third deadly bombing in Pakistan this year. The worst was a suicide attack in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday that killed 22 policemen and eight civilians.

In another incident on Monday, a crudely made bomb went off in the election office of a nationalist party in Peshawar, wounding one person, police said. More than 800 people have been killed in attacks - mainly suicide bombings targeting the security forces - in Pakistan over the past year, making 2007 the deadliest for militant violence in the country’s history.

Three more soldiers died of their wounds, taking the toll from a suicide attack on a local army football team to 12, the military said in a statement.

The attack took place on Monday in a high security area of the garrison city of Kohat in North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan. The players were on a public road in the area when they were blown up.

Nine were reported dead at the time of the attack.

“Later, three critically injured also succumbed to their injuries,” the military said in a statement late on Monday.

It was the third suicide attack apparently aimed at the military since Friday and came two days after President Pervez Musharraf lifted a state of emergency, saying a wave of militant violence had been stopped.

News Coming That Two Blasts In Rawalpindi In The Most Secured Area Near GHQ (Generals Head Quarter) Have Killed Many Poeple.

This News make me to think that if our armed forces are not safe then how Government Claims To Make Ordinary People safe n Sound.

Here Is What Geo TV said About This News …

“RAWALPINDI: Fifteen people have been killed and more than 30 injured in Rawalpindi suicide attacks on Saturday.  “One was at a check post near GHQ through explosive laden car and the other was on a bus of sensitive institution carrying security officials near Faizabad,” Director General ISPR Major General Waheed Arshad told Geo News.  ISPR spokesman said that 15 people were killed and several injured in an attack on the bus of sensitive institution.  Another suicide attack occured at army check post near GHQ in which suicide bomber has been killed and three security officials sustained injuries.  The injured were shifted to Rawalpindi General Hospital and other hospitals. Following the incident, security forces cordoned off the area. 

Meanwhile, US news agency has reported 35 deaths in suicide attack in Rawalpindi.”