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'Pak's jehadi policy backfiring'
ISLAMABAD: The feeling in Indian government circles was that the suicide bomb attack in Pakistan had demonstrated both the growing reach of jehadi elements as well as the vulnerability of Pakistan's heartland.
That the suicide bomber struck in fortified Islamabad, which has only three entry points each well-guarded, is seen as a confirmation that the terrorists are no longer limited only to the autonomous tribal regions of North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
"This highlights that its (Pakistan's) policy of using jehadi terrorists to achieve the triple strategic objectives to acquire strategic depth by controlling Afghanistan, to counter secessionist trends in NWFP and Sindh and, most crucially, to harass India is fraught with serious risks for Pakistan itself," an official source in New Delhi said.
In Islamabad, the bomber's remains were being examined by forensic experts. "The bomber appears to be in his 20s. His face is not recognisable.
His skull and lower body parts have been found," retired Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, head of the interior ministry's Crisis Management Cell, said. A motorist, who declined to give his name, described hearing and feeling the explosion as he drove by.
"As I was driving, I heard a huge blast at my back. The windscreen of my car shattered. When I turned round, I saw flesh scattered on the road."
Police cordoned off the area and sirens wailed through the district, where many government buildings are located, and police used batons to drive back journalists, photographers and television crews congregated at the site. The US embassy barred staff from visiting the hotel after a small blast in the lobby in October, 2004.
The US embassy renewed its advisory to Americans to avoid the area, exercise caution, and limit unnecessary travel. British Foreign Office also issued a similar advisory.
Whereas bomb attacks are commonplace elsewhere in Pakistan, they have been fairly rare in Islamabad in recent years. However, there were a series of scares late last year, when unexploded rockets were found close to government ministries and the military intelligence headquarters.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ckfiring/articleshow/msid-1478975,curpg-2.cms
ISLAMABAD: The feeling in Indian government circles was that the suicide bomb attack in Pakistan had demonstrated both the growing reach of jehadi elements as well as the vulnerability of Pakistan's heartland.
That the suicide bomber struck in fortified Islamabad, which has only three entry points each well-guarded, is seen as a confirmation that the terrorists are no longer limited only to the autonomous tribal regions of North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
"This highlights that its (Pakistan's) policy of using jehadi terrorists to achieve the triple strategic objectives to acquire strategic depth by controlling Afghanistan, to counter secessionist trends in NWFP and Sindh and, most crucially, to harass India is fraught with serious risks for Pakistan itself," an official source in New Delhi said.
In Islamabad, the bomber's remains were being examined by forensic experts. "The bomber appears to be in his 20s. His face is not recognisable.
His skull and lower body parts have been found," retired Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, head of the interior ministry's Crisis Management Cell, said. A motorist, who declined to give his name, described hearing and feeling the explosion as he drove by.
"As I was driving, I heard a huge blast at my back. The windscreen of my car shattered. When I turned round, I saw flesh scattered on the road."
Police cordoned off the area and sirens wailed through the district, where many government buildings are located, and police used batons to drive back journalists, photographers and television crews congregated at the site. The US embassy barred staff from visiting the hotel after a small blast in the lobby in October, 2004.
The US embassy renewed its advisory to Americans to avoid the area, exercise caution, and limit unnecessary travel. British Foreign Office also issued a similar advisory.
Whereas bomb attacks are commonplace elsewhere in Pakistan, they have been fairly rare in Islamabad in recent years. However, there were a series of scares late last year, when unexploded rockets were found close to government ministries and the military intelligence headquarters.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ckfiring/articleshow/msid-1478975,curpg-2.cms