Pakistan News And Discussion-13

**Hauma Hamiddha** · 10-18-2007, 03:11 AM

USA allowed Pakistan to get the N-bomb

Why did the Neo-cons do this?
Because they wanted to balance India. The west is not going to tell you this.

10-18-2007, 08:08 PM

BB is back. New trouble for India.

10-18-2007, 08:09 PM

QUOTEWhy did the Neo-cons do this?
Because they wanted to balance India. The west is not going to tell you this. 
There are fools in India who trust both.

Naresh · 10-19-2007, 01:36 AM

Mudy Ji :

The Phun and Games have started :

At least 20 killed in Bhutto rally blast in Pakistan KARACHI, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - At least 20 people were killed and several wounded late Thursday when a car bomb ripped through Benazir Bhutto's homecoming procession in Pakistan, but the former prime minister was unhurt, police said. The car was only yards away from the truck carrying Bhutto when the bomb went off as her motorcade inched through crowds of supporters in Karachi. Television footage showed mutilated bodies lying on the street. (First Posted @ 00:20 PST; Updated @ 01:00 PST)

According to the Deaf n Dumb Phorum Death Toll has reached Sixty

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10-19-2007, 01:37 AM

QUOTEBenazir's back 
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Minnie Mouse in a Disneyland democracy <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />
With the return of Ms Benazir Bhutto - twice Prime Minister of Pakistan and supreme leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - after an eight-year exile, her country seems poised for changes. Ms Bhutto's arrival in Karachi, amid threats by the Taliban and others, has been facilitated by the National Reconciliation Ordinance issued by President Pervez Musharraf, withdrawing corruption cases against her and other senior politicians. The ordinance has been issued at a time of intense speculation about an American-brokered power-sharing arrangement between Gen Musharraf and Ms Bhutto. While the deal is not yet confirmed, the ordinance does, however, meet one of the conditions for such an arrangement - that of dropping of corruption cases against Ms Bhutto. Changes in the law that would allow a Prime Minister a third term, another of Ms Bhutto's conditions, are still to come. Even so, Ms Bhutto's decision to participate in the parliamentary election, to be held early next year, allows General Musharraf - whose victory in the Presidential election has yet to meet the Supreme Court's legal test - a way out of the political mess. He will now be able to retain a role for himself and the Army while apparently initiating a shift to democracy and civil society. Yet, the forthcoming democratic exercise would remain limited and downright tainted if Mr Nawaz Sharif - the other former premier in exile - is not allowed to participate. As will be recalled, Mr Sharif was deported to Saudi Arabia on September 10, hours after he landed in Islamabad.

Happily for Mr Sharif, Pakistan's Supreme Court has, in a detailed judgment this week, reiterated the point made earlier in a short order, that Pakistani citizens could not be restrained from returning to their country. Mr Sharif is keenly interested in another attempt at coming home. If he succeeds, it will add another twist to Pakistan's political drama. In any case, whatever the shape of the next Government, it will not mean a restoration of democracy in its entirety. The military, always powerful, has further entrenched itself during Musharraf's raj.

As for Ms Bhutto, the bookies' favourite for the Prime Minister's job, she laid down her priorities at a pre-departure Press conference in Dubai, calling for a Pakistan where people would have opportunities for "employment, economic well-being, the primacy of civilian rule and a society free of extremism". These are nice words but the problem with Ms Bhutto is that she has often gone back on political commitments and betrayed her so-called liberal image. Her two stints in power, full of promise but short on performance, were controversial because of corruption charges. In the early 1990s, the PPP rule coincided with a hardline against India, encouragement of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir and state-sponsored promotion of the Taliban occupation of Kabul by Ms Bhutto and her Interior Minister, the infamous Nasrullah Babar. Till a year ago, she was meeting Mr Sharif in London and proposing a joint effort at restoring democracy. Today, she has discovered the virtues of Gen Musharraf and is presenting herself to the Americans as an opponent of the Taliban and the Islamists. Like her father, she is attempting to be all things to all people. When it comes to the Bhuttos, hypocrisy is a way of life.

Naresh · 10-19-2007, 01:47 AM

Further Developments :

At least 34 killed in Bhutto rally blast in Pakistan KARACHI, Oct 19,(AFP) - At least 34 people were killed and several wounded late Thursday when a car bomb ripped through Benazir Bhutto's homecoming procession in Pakistan, but the former prime minister was unhurt, police said. The car was only yards away from the truck carrying Bhutto when the bomb went off as her motorcade inched through crowds of supporters in Karachi. Television footage showed mutilated bodies lying on the street. (First Posted @ 00:20 PST; Updated @ 01:00 PST)

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Naresh · 10-19-2007, 02:43 AM

[center]At least 78 killed in Bhutto parade blasts : police[/center]

KARACHI (AFP) - At least 78 people were killed, including 20 policemen, and more than 151 injured by two bombs near former premier Benazir Bhutto's truck during her Pakistan homecoming parade on Thursday, police said.

[center]<img src='http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/SGE.LCJ03.181007205317.photo00.quicklook.default-245x159.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Bodies lie on a road in front of a vehicle carrying of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto[/center]

"There were two massive explosions near Bhutto's vehicle. We have 78 people who have been killed and 151 injured so far," senior Karachi police officer Javed Ali told AFP.

"At least 20 of the dead were policemen who were in three police vans that were completely destroyed by the attack. Many of the injured are still in a critical condition," he added.

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Naresh · 10-19-2007, 03:14 AM

Benazir's convoy attacked in Pakistan, 89 killed

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Naresh · 10-19-2007, 03:37 AM

[center]Benazir's rally bomb blast : Over 100 dead[/center]

KARACHI : At least 115 people were killed and over 100 injured when the massive rally for welcoming former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was hit by massive bomb blasts on late Thursday evening, police and hospital sources said.

At least 35 bodies among many whose only body parts were recovered were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The rally was bombed just after the Karsaz flyover. Other bodies including that of 34 people were taken to Liaquat National Hospital.

It is reliably learnt that PPP Chairperson and former prime minister and other main leaders of the party who were onboard on main truck of the welcome remained safe however some of the leaders received injuries and were rushed to the nearby hospitals.

The massive bombing caused immediate halting and dispersal of the welcome rally for Benazir Bhutto right after the Karsaz flyover on Sharea Faisal. The bomb blast caused serious stampede and panic among participants of the rally who ran helter-sekelter on the Sharea Faisal and adjoining roads.

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10-19-2007, 03:49 AM

It is very sad, lot of innocent people had died, 25 policemen. According to Paki math it is 115*10 = 1150 (Rice eating, dark Hindoo)
Mushy choice of population control is not good, I think he should stick to other methods, drugs, controlled short circuit, bridge collapse, Lal Masjid etc.

Naresh · 10-19-2007, 03:55 AM

Mudy Ji :

You are being most unfair!

Here is Mush the Tush showing his Love as professed according to the Rules and Tenets of the Peaceful Religion in the Land of the Pure and you are criticising his hard efforts!!

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10-19-2007, 04:07 AM

Here is live telecast
http://www.jumptv.com/en/channel/aajtv/

Nawaj Sahab is very Sad. He is saying, these dead were dear to Allah. Nawaz is saying Kiski Nazr lagayi hai Pakistan ko, <!--emo& Big Grin

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Mushy is following Islam, All Pakistani should be dear to Allah, they are from Islamic country.

2 Sucide bombing, current score is 128.

10-19-2007, 10:44 AM

QUOTEPakistan bombing 'planned meticulously': Karachi police chief KARACHI, Oct 19 (AFP) The deadly attack targeting Benazir Bhutto's homecoming parade was âplanned meticulously and conducted expertly,â Karachi's police chief Azhar Farooqi said Friday. At least 125 people were killed in the blasts that ripped through a crowded street in Karachi early Friday as the former prime minister was being driven through following her return from eight years in exile. âIt was a suicide attack targetting Benazir Bhutto. Her truck could have been blasted completely but the police security bore the brunt of the attack,â Farooqi told AFP. âFirst a grenade was thrown at the crowd and then the suicide bomber blew himself up. It is a pattern that would suggest the attack was planned meticulously and conducted expertly, certainly not by a novice.â It was not immediately clear how many people were involved in the attack or who was behind it. âI am not in a position to name any organisation. The investigations are under way,â Farooqi said. Benazirâs husband Asif Ali Zardari alleged a Pakistani intelligence agency was behind the attack. (Posted @ 08:45 PST)

Current score is 170, this is on first day.

10-19-2007, 11:17 PM

US Paradrop Lands Benazir in the Midst of Jihadis - International Terrorism MonitorQUOTE5. Many of her statements were like the red rag to the jihadi bulls---- that she would hand over A. Q. Khan, Pakistan's nuclear scientist, to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna for interrogation, that she would co-operate with the US in the war on terrorism, that she would hand over Dawood Ibrahim, the Indian mafia leader living in Karachi, to India etc etc.

6. Benazir and Musharraf have many things in common. One of them is an inability to keep their mouth shut. The second is a weakness for the TV cameras. The third is an eagerness to be liked by the Americans.Â The result: All anti-American groups in Pakistan were waiting for an opportunity to kill her.

10-19-2007, 11:19 PM

QUOTEBIN LADEN'S FORMER HANDLING OFFICER WAS IN CHARGE OF BENAZIR'S SECURITY INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR---PAPER NO.288
B.RAMAN

According to latest reports, at least one hundred and thirty-two persons---20 of them police officers deputed to protect Mrs.Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister--- were killed in a suspected suicide attack on the convoy by which she was being taken from the Karachi airport to the Mausoleum of Mohammad Ali Jinnah on the night of October 18,2007.The suicide attack or attacks were clearly aimed to kill her on her arrival in Karachi to a triumphant welcome by her supporters, but she managed to escape.

2. Reliable sources say one or two suicide bombers were involved. The bullet-proof vehicle by which she was being taken by her supporters was protected by two cordons of security guards. The inner cordon consisted of security guards engaged by her Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians to protect her. Many of them were former policemen and ex-servicemen enjoying the confidence of her party and her confidence. The outer cordon consisted of police officers of the Sindh Police and plain-clothes security officers of Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau, which is now headed by Brig.Ejaz Shah, a former officer of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who is a close personal friend of Gen.Pervez Musharraf and Gen.(retd). Mohammad Aziz, a Kashmiri officer belonging to the Sudan tribe, who orchestrated the overthrow of Mr.Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister in October,1999. Shah is also a close personal friend of many Punjabi leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League (Qaide Azam), which is opposed to Benazir's return.

3. According to these sources, the suicide bomber or bombers managed to penetrate the security cordon of the Police and IB officers without being frisked, but could not penetrate the inner cordon of security guards of the PPPP. When they stopped them, they blew themselves up at a distance from her vehicle. At the time of the explosion, she was not standing on top of the vehicle. She had gone inside the vehicle to rest for a while. This seems to have contributed to her miraculous escape. Had she been standing on top she might have been injured, if not killed.

4. There are many elements in Pakistan and in Karachi itself, which are opposed to her and are determined to prevent her return to power. These include the various jihadi terrorist groups, Al Qaeda and its allies, those involved in the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl and the supporters of Dawood Ibrahim, the Indian mafia leader, who has been given shelter in Karachi by the Pakistani intelligence agencies.The anger against her is due to various reasons---- the fact that she is a woman, her close proximity to the US and her open statements supporting the US on various issues. They see her as the US' cat's paw. It is difficult to say at present who might have been responsible for the attack on her.

5. Brig. Ejaz Shah has been strongly criticised by Mrs.Benazir and her supporters for the security failure and they have demanded his removal and arrest. When he was in the ISI,he used to be the handling officer of Osama bin Laden and Mulla Omar, the Amir of the Taliban. After Musharraf seized power in October,1999, he had him posted as the Home Secretary of Punjab. It was to him that Omar Sheikh, who orchestrated the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl, the American journalist, surrendered because Omar Sheikh knew him before and was confident that Ejaz Shah would see that he was not tortured. 

6. After the murder of Pearl, there were many allegations regarding Shah's role. Musharraf tried to protect him by sending him as the Ambassador to Australia or Indonesia. Both the countries reportedly refused to accept him. Musharraf then made him the DG of the IB. As the DG of the IB, he has seen to it that the death sentence against Omar Sheikh for his role in the Pearl case was not executed. The courts have been repeatedly postponing hearings on the appeal filed by Omar Sheikh against the death sentence.

7. Ejaz Shah played an active role in the campaign to discredit Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Caudhury of the Pakistan Supreme Court after he started calling for the files of a large number of missing persons, who were taken into custody by the police and the intelligence agencies. Reliable sources in Pakistan reported that Gen.Pervez Kiani, who was the DG of the ISI at the time of the suspension of the Chief Justice, was against the suspension, but Musharraf suspended him on the advice of Ejaz Shah and Maj-Gen.Nadim Taj, who was at that time the head of the Directorate-General of Military Intelligence.Maj.Gen.Taj has since been promoted as Lt.Gen. and has succeeded Kiyani as the DG of the ISI.

8. While the ISI under Kiyani refused to file any affidavit against the suspended Chief Justice before the court when it was hearing the petition of the Chief Justice against his suspension, the IB and the DGMI filed affidavits giving details of all the information which their organisations had indicating the alleged unsuitability of the Chief Justice to head the Supreme Court.

9. Despite the political embarrassment caused by the case, which ended in a fiasco, Ejaz Shah continues to enjoy the total confidence of Musharraf. 

10. Annexed is an article written by me in September,2003, on Ejaz Shah and Damiel Pearl's case, which was carried by the South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG) and the Asia Timesonline.(19-10-07)

(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and ,presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail Confused

eventyone2@gmail.com )

ANNEXURE

Daniel Pearl's case in limbo (http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EJ01Df07.html)
By B Raman

The case relating to the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl, the US journalist, in the beginning of last year continues to be in a limbo, with no action by the government of Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf to have the hearing on the appeal filed by the accused expedited.

In the meanwhile, one of the dramatis personae - a former officer of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who used to be the handling officer of Omar Sheikh, the principal accused, and one of the handling officers of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar - the Taliban leader - could be rewarded with an ambassadorial appointment.

On July 15, 2002, a special anti-terrorism court in Hyderabad, Sindh province, found Ahmed Omar Sheikh, Syed Salman Saquib, Sheikh Muhammad Adil and Fahad Naseem guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Pearl. While Omar Sheikh was sentenced to death, the other three were sentenced to life imprisonment. Shortly thereafter, they appealed against their sentences before a division bench of the Sindh High Court.

Though it is now a year since the appeal was filed, there has been no progress in the hearing of the appeal. The defense lawyers have repeatedly absented themselves from the court, an action that has already adjourned the hearing six times. The sixth adjournment was granted on September 25. The case has now been fixed for hearing on October 21.

The court warned that if the defense lawyers do not appear on that date, it would dispense with their services and appoint a government lawyer to defend the accused.

Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act, which has been repeatedly amended by successive governments to ensure expeditious disposal of the trial and the appeal in terrorism-related cases, contains adequate provisions for preventing such repeated adjournments and other means for delaying a trial.

When Musharraf had former prime minister Nawaz Sharif prosecuted under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the prosecution under his instructions ensured that the trial was disposed of and Sharif convicted within the time limits laid down by the act. In the case relating to the murder of Pearl, the prosecution itself has apparently been colluding with the defense lawyers and has refrained from moving the court to stop the delaying tactics repeatedly adopted by the defense lawyers.

In the meanwhile, Brigadier (retired) Ejaz Shah, Home Secretary of Punjab, before whom Omar Sheikh had surrendered in February last year, has reportedly been selected by Musharraf for posting as Pakistan's ambassador to Indonesia.

Before joining as home secretary, Punjab, he worked in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and was once Omar Sheikh's principal handling officer, as well as one of bin Laden's and Mullah Omar's. When the Lahore and Karachi police started searching for Omar Sheikh after the kidnapping of Pearl, he surrendered to Ejaz Shah as he was afraid that the Karachi police might torture him.

Ejaz Shah immediately informed General Mohammad Aziz Khan, presently chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, who was No 2 in the ISI until October 1998, and the two carefully debriefed Omar Sheikh as to what he should tell the police during his interrogation. He was kept in their informal custody for a week and, thereafter, handed over to the police, who were told to announce that they had arrested him while searching for him, without mentioning that he had voluntarily surrendered to Shah.

Aziz and Shah did not want Omar Sheikh to admit to the Karachi police any role in the explosion outside the Legislative Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir in October, 2001, in the attack on the Indian parliament in December, 2001, and about his having told Lieutenant-General Ehsanul Haq, the present director general of the ISI, who was Corps Commander in Peshawar before October, 2001, about the plans of al-Qaeda to carry out terrorist strikes in the US.

However, Omar Sheikh disregarded their advice and told the Karachi police about these events. The News, a prestigious daily, came to know of some of his confessions to the Karachi police. The editor of the paper rejected a request from the ISI not to publish the story. Musharraf thereupon forced the owner to sack the editor, who went into exile in the US fearing a threat to his life from the ISI.

Thereafter, Musharraf selected Shah for posting as High Commissioner to Australia, which reportedly refused to give its agreement to his appointment. It is now learnt that Musharraf has instructed his Foreign Office that he should be sent as ambassador to Indonesia. It remains to be seen whether Jakarta agrees.

If it does, this will be the fourth instance in recent years of ex-ISI officers being appointed to head Pakistani diplomatic missions in this region. The other three missions are those at Pyongyang, North Korea, which has always been headed by an ISI officer who had worked in the division responsible for the clandestine procurement of nuclear materials and missiles; Kuala Lumpur, which is the nerve center for supervising the activities of the Tablighi Jamaat, a conservative Islamic missionary group founded in India 75 years ago, in the Southeast Asian region, Australia and New Zealand; and Bangkok, which is a suspected transit point for the infiltration of terrorists into India by air.

Naresh · 10-19-2007, 11:51 PM

[center]Bhutto : Suicide squads plotted attack[/center]

ASHRAF KHAN, Associated Press Writer - 6 minutes ago

KARACHI, Pakistan - Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, her return from exile shattered by a suicide attack that killed up to 136 people, blamed militants Friday for trying to kill her and said she would not "surrender our great nation" to them.

She said she had prior warning that Taliban and al-Qaida suicide squads would try to kill her upon her return, and that she alerted President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in an Oct. 16 letter. She said there were two attackers in the deadly bombing; her security guards, she said, found a third man armed with a pistol and another with a suicide vest.

"There was one suicide squad from the Taliban elements, one suicide squad from al-Qaida, one suicide squad from Pakistani Taliban and a fourth group, I believe, from Karachi," she in a news conference.

Baitullah Mehsud, a militant leader on the unstable Afghan border, threatened this month to meet Bhutto's return to Pakistan with suicide attacks, according to local media reports. An associate of Mehsud, however, denied Taliban involvement.

Bhutto said her guards prevented more carnage.

"They stood their ground, and they stood all around the truck, and they refused to let the suicide bomber â the second suicide bomber â get near the truck," she said.

Bhutto blamed militants for the attack, which drew international condemnation.

"We believe democracy alone can save Pakistan from disintegration and a militant takeover," she told a news conference. "We are prepared to risk our lives and we are prepared to risk our liberty, but we are not prepared to surrender our great nation to the militants."

She did not blame the government, but said it was suspicious that streetlights failed after sunset Thursday when her convoy was inching its way through the streets of Karachi. She said the phones were down, making it difficult to have the lights restored.

"I'm not accusing the government but certain individuals who abuse their positions and powers," she said. "We were scanning the crowd with the floodlights, but it was difficult to scan the crowds because there was so much darkness."

In a separate interview with Paris Match, Bhutto blamed "dignitaries" linked to Gen. Zia-ul Haq, the Pakistani leader who jailed her several times before his death in a mysterious plane crash in 1988.

"We must purge these elements that are still present in our secret services. A good number of them retired and then were rehired. They have a lot of power today. For them, I represent a danger: if I return democracy to the country, they will lose their influence," she said in the interview.

Bhutto claimed the next attack against her would target her homes in Karachi and her hometown of Larkana, using attackers posing as supporters of a rival political faction.

She said she was confident the government would take measures to prevent it.

Bhutto said militants had "gained strength" but the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan should not delay elections slated for January.

"We believe democracy alone can save Pakistan from disintegration and a militant takeover," Bhutto said.

Pakistan's Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said parliamentary elections would go ahead as planned, despite the attack on Bhutto.

"We reiterate our confidence that, God willing, the political process in the country will continue," Durrani told reporters. "Elections will be held on time."

Bhutto's procession was creeping toward the center of Karachi for 10 hours, as supporters thronged her truck, when a small explosion erupted near the front of the vehicle. That was quickly followed by a larger blast, destroying two escorting police vans.

The attacker's head was found nearby and taken to a forensic lab to try to identify him, Manzur Mughal, the Karachi police officer in charge of the investigation, told The Associated Press.

In the aftermath, bodies lay motionless in the street among pools of blood, broken glass, tossed motorcycles and bits of clothing. Some of the injured were rushed on stretchers into a hospital, and others were carried by rescuers in their arms.

The attack was one of the deadliest in Pakistan's history.

Police collected forensic evidence â picking up pieces of flesh and discarded shoes. Bhutto's truck was hoisted away using a crane. One side of the truck was splattered with blood and pocked with shrapnel holes.

Ghulam Muhammad Mohtarem, the top security official in Sindh province where Karachi is located, suggested that Bhutto's camp had gotten carried away celebrating her return after eight years in exile, and had not taken the need for security seriously.

Musharraf phoned Bhutto on Friday to express his shock and grief, and prayed for the former premier's safety and security, his spokesman said.

"The president and Ms. Bhutto both expressed their unflinching resolve to fight this scourge of extremism and terrorism. They also agreed that there was a need for the entire nation to unite in order to rid the country of this menace of suicide bombings, terrorism and extremism," said the spokesman, Rashid Qureshi.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, which shed new uncertainty over negotiations between Bhutto and Musharraf and possible plans for a moderate, pro-U.S. alliance.

Mohtarem said it was the nuts and bolts and steel balls packed around the explosives that had made the bombing so deadly. He said it was impossible to prevent more such attacks.

Officials at six hospitals in Karachi reported 136 dead and around 250 wounded.

Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi said that 113 people died, including 20 policemen, and that 300 people were wounded. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the differing death tolls.

On the eve of Bhutto's arrival, a provincial government official had cited intelligence reports that three suicide bombers linked to Mehsud were in Karachi. The local government had also warned Bhutto could be targeted by Taliban or al-Qaida.

The United States has offered to help Pakistan in any way it can, the White House said.

The attack "tells you a lot about the kinds of people we are battling against every day, that any flicker of democracy they want to find a way to beat it down and stamp it out," White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said Friday.

Asked who was responsible, Fratto said, "I think you could say, broadly, Islamic extremists is probably accurate, but I'd refer you to Pakistani authorities to give better details on that."

Karachi, which lies in the far south of Pakistan and has been buffeted by militant attacks, was quiet Friday. Schools were closed and traffic was thin, with city residents wary of venturing out.

Unrest broke in two districts but did not appear serious. Hundreds of Bhutto supporters hurled stones at vehicles and shops during a funeral procession for two victims, forcing police to cordon off the area. Elsewhere, Bhutto supporters ordered shops to close and burned tires in the road.

Bhutto flew home Thursday to lead her Pakistan People's Party in January parliamentary elections, drawing cheers from crowds that police put at 150,000. She has ambitions to win a third term as prime minister.

The throngs reflected Bhutto's enduring political clout, but she has made enemies of Islamic militants by taking a pro-U.S. line and negotiating a possible alliance with Musharraf.

It remained unclear whether the attack could stiffen the rivals' resolve to fight militancy together or strain already bad relations between Bhutto and the ruling party supporting Musharraf.

Musharraf won re-election to the presidency in a vote this month by lawmakers that is being challenged in the Supreme Court. If he is confirmed for a new five-year presidential term, Musharraf has promised to quit the military and restore civilian rule.

Associated Press writers Matthew Pennington and Paisley Dodds in Karachi, Sadaqat Jan and Zarar Khan in Islamabad, and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan contributed to this report.

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Shambhu · 10-20-2007, 03:25 AM

According to NPR BB has given His Most Exalted Highness Mush 3 names she suspects of arranging the welcome..

Naresh · 10-20-2007, 04:09 AM

[center]Pakistan lost more lives to terror in '07 than India[/center]

NEW DELHI : For years, India has been the worst victim of terror groups, many of them backed by the Pakistani establishment. That has now changed. In 2007, Pakistan has lost more lives to terror than India. Considering it has a population that is barely one-seventh of Indiaâs population, that is a stunning indicator of just how badly terror has boomeranged on Pakistan.

According to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a total of 2,056 people had lost their lives in terrorist incidents in India up to October 10 this year. Including the Ajmer blast that happened after that date, in which 3 people died, the number would now stand at 2,059.

SATP figures put the casualties in Pakistan till October 10 at 2,151. Since then there have been a couple of minor incidents and Wednesdayâs massive suicide attack in Karachi. If the death toll from the Karachi blast stays at 135, that would take Pakistani casualties this year up to 2,295.

Interestingly, the pattern of deaths in the two countries is quite similar despite the different nature of the terror attacks. Of Indiaâs 2,059 deaths, 811 are civilians and 304 security personnel, while 944 terrorists have been reported killed. In Pakistan, the corresponding numbers would be 886 civilians, 413 security personnel and 996 terrorists. This is based on preliminary estimates of the Karachi toll, which suggest that two terrorists and about 20 cops may have been among the 135 killed.

Thus, in both countries, terrorist deaths are slightly more than civilian casualties, while security personnel account for fewer deaths than either of these categories.

With a population of roughly 165 million to Indiaâs 1.1 billion plus, the impact of terror on Pakistan has clearly been much higher in 2007 than on India. It reveals the extent to which that country is in a state of virtual civil war.

shankar.raghuraman@timesgroup.com

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10-20-2007, 08:08 AM

Islam is to blame for death in Pakistan and India.

10-20-2007, 11:39 AM

Suspected bomberâs head found: policeQUOTEâWe have found the severed head of a man from the blast site and are certain he is the bomber,â said senior police investigator Raja Omar Khatab. Samples have been taken from the head and sent to a laboratory for DNA and other forensic tests to identify him, Khatab added.
They have face in hand, what else they want. They should look for 'real head'

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