President calls for national unity

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http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/01/31/10100767.html

By Shahid Hussain and Mujahid Ali, Correspondents


Islamabad/Karachi: President Pervez Musharraf yesterday appealed for Pakistan to stand united as two people died in the latest incident of a wave of sectarian attacks that has killed 22 people in the past few days.

Musharraf urged the public to stay calm and inform on extremists after violence. He has put security forces on high alert as annual Shiite religious ceremonies reach their climax.

"The entire Pakistani nation needs to face such [extremist] elements and together we can defeat them," Musharraf told reporters before departing for a visit to Indonesia and Malaysia.

He appealed to the nation to remain calm, as police, paramilitary rangers and army troops provided nationwide security cover for religious processions commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet.

"The entire Pakistani nation needs to face terrorist elements and together we can defeat them," he said.

When asked about the motive and identity of the perpetrators, the president replied that it would be premature to say from where the attacks were originating.

"We are investigating and are also looking at the possibility of involvement of some foreign hand," Musharraf said.

Law enforcement

He lauded the role of law enforcement agencies, particularly the police. "They sacrificed their lives and averted what could have caused serious damage and loss of lives."

Musharraf described the perpetrators as "misguided elements who have absolutely no understanding of Islam and are a blot on the name of religion".

"We want peace in Pakistan so that we can work for prosperity and improvement of life of people. Without peace we cannot move forward. The nation has to show determination against a handful of elements trying to create lawlessness in the country," he said.

In the latest incident, two people were killed and 14, most of them policemen, were injured as a result of a clash in the town of Hangu in North West Frontier Province yesterday. The town was placed under indefinite curfew.

A day earlier, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the town of Dera Ismail Khan in NWFP, killing a policeman and a citizen and injuring several others.

In the same province on Saturday a suicide bombing killed 14 people, including six police officials, and injured 30 in the provincial capital, Peshawar. The country's capital, Islamabad, also witnessed a suicide attack last Friday, in which a bomber detonated himself when stopped by a security guard from entering a top hotel. The guard was killed in the attack. Interior ministry officials said yesterday that police had discovered and defused three bombs in Kohat district in NWFP.

Karachi preparations

Pakistani authorities, shaken by a spate of recent suicide attacks on Shiites and security officials, deployed more than 25,000 policemen and paramilitary rangers in Karachi yesterday to protect the traditional mourning processions.

Helicopters hovered over thousands of Shiites who marched through the roads of Karachi beating their chests and wailing in ritual.

Policemen and paramilitary rangers armed with assault rifles lined the roads and rooftops.

"We have declared 392 Imambargahs [Shiite mosques] sensitive and deployed additional security personnel over there," a senior police official told Gulf News requesting anonymity. "We are taking no chances, but stopping suicide attackers is a very difficult assignment," he said.

Security personnel sealed with iron containers and heavy vehicles all the roads and streets leading to the M.A. Jinnah Road from where the main procession had to pass.

However, the threat of terrorism and suicide attacks did not dampen the spirits of Shiite mourners who turned out in thousands to participate in these processions and religious ceremonies.

- With inputs from AP