'Fatal' blast at Islamabad hotel

[Contrarian]

'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

 

[Contrarian]

Pak declares red alert, special team to probe Marriott blast

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formed a special team to probe the suicide attack on the Marriott hotel, hours before the Indian High Commissioner held a Republic Day reception there, even as security was heightened across major cities and airports of the country.

Interior Secretary Sayed Kamal Shah said a special unit of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), headed by a DIG, has been formed to investigate the blast.

A suicide bomber on Friday tried to storm the hotel hours before a reception there by Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal to mark the Republic Day, killing himself and a security guard and injuring seven others.

The investigators apparently were still clueless about the attack and had no idea why the bomber tried to enter the hotel from the side entrance, which is either used in emergency or by the hotel staff.

Questions like why they tried to enter several hours before the Republic Day reception and the real target of the attack were being probed, Shah said.

Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Pervez George said, the stepped up security was a natural consequence of the attack on the hotel, although there was no specific threat to any of the airports.

All vehicles entering the airport premises were being searched thoroughly and all visitors and the airlines' staff were subject to body and baggage searches, media reports quoted Airport Security Force (ASF) sources as saying that because of this, long queues could be seen outside the airports.

Officials have not ruled out that the blast could be the retaliation for a recent military attack on a madrassa in the Bajore tribal agency after which locals had threatened suicide bomb attacks in Islamabad.

Demolition of two unauthorised mosques in Islamabad during the past few days, which caused resentment among madrassa students, were also not being ruled out.

The Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal, who went ahead with the plans to hold a Republic Day reception at the same hotel after the blasts, said that the Pakistan government has not spoken to Indian officials on the incident.

"Nor do they need to. They are conducting their investigations," he said here.

"We treat it as a deplorable attack in Pakistan. We wish them well in their investigations to bring those who have perpetrated the blast to book," he said.

Both Pal and the Pakistan Minister for Education Javed Asharaff Qazi who attended the reception as chief guest departed from the practice of not making speeches at such receptions and asserted that such attacks would not deter the two countries from proceeding ahead with the peace process.

Qazi, who was former ISI Chief, said, "we ourselves are victims of terrorism that is why we are fighting terrorism and continuing to do so until this scourge is eliminated from our country," he said.

"This peace process, Inshallah, (God willing) will go on until we have all people in the region living in peace and working together for prosperity of all people of this sub-continent," Qazi said.

Condemning the attack Pal said, "there has been speculation about what might and might not be the target of this attack but what it establishes really is that it (terrorism) has no borders and it is a common enemy. We must fight this common menace together in order to defeat it."

"If there was a message that was being sent by those who sent this man (suicide bomber) to kill others here, it is that the terrorist will stop at nothing to destroy lives and disrupt lives.

"By holding this reception we are sending a message back to them that we will not be cowed and we will not be frightened and disturbed," he said and thanked the large number of diplomats, politicians, officials and media for attending the function as a show of solidarity.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...tt_blast/articleshow/msid-1483965,curpg-1.cms

 

[Munir]

so we have to read indian newspapers? I hardly believe them.

 

[Adux]

so we have to read indian newspapers? I hardly believe them.

Suggestion : Post some articles and links yourself

 

[Contrarian]

so we have to read indian newspapers? I hardly believe them.

No1 is forcing you to read it.

 

[Munir]

No1 is forcing you to read it.

Then do not post crappy propaganda...

 

[Contrarian]

If you had even bothered to read them, then you would have found that both of them are essentially reports of the incident and the topic of the first report is misleading as related to its contents.
Propaganda or no, its a news report, and i have posted it. Its your wish whether you want to read it or not,no one is forcing you, dont impose your wishes on others.

 

[Munir]

whatever... If I have to believe Indian news then India would be a superpower and LCA would be better then Block52 F16 and... India will land on the moon...

I have seen so many Indian articles and there is not much credit left...

 

[Cheetah786]

PESHAWAR: At least fifteen persons mostly police officials were killed and sixty others injured in a suicide blast in provincial metropolis of North Western Frontier Province here on Saturday evening at famous Qissa Khuwani Bazar.
Most of the victims were police and municipal officials who were clearing the route for a procession of Shiites in a crowded old quarter of Peshawar at around 8:30 pm. The procession had yet to begin from Imambargah Najmul Hassan Karrarvi. Thirteen police officials and two civilians were among the casualties. Ten of the injured are in precarious condition.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Peshawar, Malik Saad, DSP, Khan Razziq and Nazim Mohammad Ali Safi, Naib Nazim, Mian Iftikhar were among the list of casualties at Dikki Dil Garan an area in Qisa Khuwani Bazar in Peshawar. Edhi Sources have confirmed that sixty persons were injured in the suicide attack.
No crater has been found at the blast site and it is strong perception that it was suicide blast as two legs were found from the explosion site.
Malik Zafar Azam, Provincial Law Minster told a private TV channel that thirteen persons were killed in the blast and seventy others were injured.
The Injured were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital where twenty are reported in critical condition.
Police have cordoned off the area after the incident and emergency has been imposed at all hospitals of the city.

 

[SADA GEO PAK]

salam pakistan
condition is going worse not good must control it as we are heading forward after a long time this will stop investments in country may god bless pakistan and take it out of crisses just keap united there are elements who are trying to devide and these afghan are at thier top to do so and do u people know karzai become a father i hope this is not the start of puppet familly

Yeh Pak Watan hai Ghar Apna, Hum is ko Sawarien gaye, Mushkilon mein La-ilaha pukaraien gaye.

 

[Contrarian]

whatever... If I have to believe Indian news then India would be a superpower and LCA would be better then Block52 F16 and... India will land on the moon...

I have seen so many Indian articles and there is not much credit left...

Its not Indian media cooking things up, its the western media, its the economists who say that India will have the 4th biggest economy in the world, and after 50 years, 3rd biggest i growth continues in the current pattern. India already has one of the worlds biggest economies in terms of PPP. There are constraints to growth like infrastructure, etc, and they are being worked upon. We are simply trying to make the country more prosperous.

Give me an article that says LCA will be better than F-16 blk 52 on a 1 to 1 battle?

An Indian will land on the moon, preparations are being done. The first step towards that has already been taken with the launch of SRE, i dont know you get Indian news there, but India recently launched another rocket in space, it had 4 satellites! Yeah 4.

SRE=Space Recovery Experiment. It was meant to test the re-entry technology that India has developed. It worked. The SRE performed some experiments in Microgravity and splashed down in Bay of Bengal. The next thing would be to send an unmanned mission to the moon. Manned flight is not estimated before 2020. It is people like you who doubt others ambitions and achievements out of Jealousy and Spite. I would advise you not to post unless you have something to contribute to the discussion.

 

[Munir]

We have time... Let us remind this post and see how 2007 evolves for India... You have my word on this. If India showes facts then I will be proud to promote India.

 

[Adux]

We have time... Let us remind this post and see how 2007 evolves for India... You have my word on this. If India showes facts then I will be proud to promote India.

I dont think your promotion of India counts for anything, but then again thank you

 

[SMC]

'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

This gives us a very good idea of who is behind this attack.

 

[Neo]

Pakistan probes Taliban link to hotel bombing
Sunday, 28 January, 2007

An investigator collects evidence at the site of suicide blast outside the Marriott hotel in Islamabad yesterday

ISLAMABAD: Investigators probing a suicide blast at a top hotel in Pakistan’s capital said yesterday they were looking at possible links to pro-Taliban extremists fighting government forces near the Afghan border.

Police said they were examining the head, a leg and an arm of the bomber who detonated explosives strapped to his body when he was prevented from entering the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on Friday, killing a security guard.
“Experts are examining the few remains of the bomber’s body in a bid to identify him,” said the interior ministry crisis management chief Brigadier Javed Cheema.

Officials said a sketch of the bomber could not be prepared as no witnesses had so far come forward, nor had hotel security cameras filmed the attacker.
Interior ministry officials said no group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

“We suspect (the attack) could be by militants opposed to the government’s drive against Taliban elements in the tribal regions,” a senior security official said on condition of anonymity.

The official said the bomber appeared to be ill-trained and poorly briefed, which suggested he was from the northwestern tribal belt rather than affiliated to better-funded sectarian groups.

“The door where he tried to enter is locked from inside and there is security present in front of it. Even if the guard had not stopped him, it would not have been possible for the bomber to enter the premises,” the official said.
The pattern of the bombing closely resembled suicide bombings in Afghanistan, where scores of such attacks last year blamed on the Taliban did not cause widespread damage and killed mostly the bombers, he added.
President Pervez Musharraf condemned the suicide attack and said it would not affect the “unwavering commitment” of the government to root out terrorism and extremism from the country.

Pakistan is under pressure to curb Taliban activity in its lawless tribal zone bordering Afghanistan.

Afghanistan says the Taliban uses the area to recruit and train fighters for cross-border attacks on Afghan, Nato-led and US forces.
Kabul has also accused the Pakistani government and intelligence services of backing the insurgency, which claimed around 4,000 lives in 2006, the deadliest year since US-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001.

Pakistan denies the charges. It says it has deployed 80,000 troops in the tribal region to hunt down the militants, with nearly 1,000 insurgents and 700 soldiers killed in the fighting since 2002.

Meanwhile, the authorities placed major cities, including Karachi and Peshawar, on high alert after the Marriott blast, and the US and Britain warned their nationals to exercise caution.

The attack happened hours before a Republic Day function at the hotel hosted by the high commission of neighbouring India, which is loathed by Pakistani radicals because of a dispute over the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.

Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal told the ceremony, which was held despite the bombing, that the attack was evidence that terrorism knew no boundaries.

“There has been speculation about what might and might not be the target of this attack but what it establishes really is that it (terrorism) has no borders and it is a common enemy,” he said.

“We must fight this common menace together in order to defeat it”, Pal said. – AFP

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topi...=129777&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23