Karachi, October 19
The Pakistan government blamed Islamist militants for twin blasts early on Friday as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto drove through masses of supporters in Karachi.
Bhutto, travelling in a truck reinforced to withstand bomb attacks, was unhurt by the deadliest bomb attack in her country’s history.
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.
“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.”
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 an attacker.
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.
Idolised by impoverished villagers, Bhutto’s re-entry to the political scene was also welcomed by investors who saw her as a force for democracy and stability, who would help Pakistan keep consistent economic policies.
— Reuters
