Foreign Correspondence

[fuagf]

"Nothing to do with the president." .. sure ..

Deadly blast raises pressure on Musharraf
Article from: Agence France-Presse
By Hasan Mansoor
January 15, 2008 10:44pm

PAKISTANI President Pervez Musharraf faced new calls for his resignation after a
bomb killed 10 people in the teeming port city Karachi ahead of key February elections.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, which tore through a street
market on Monday evening (local time) as President Musharraf was visiting Karachi.

Officials said it was intended to sow fear ahead of the February 18 polls,
already delayed once by the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Ms Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, was also in the city of 12
million people but there was no suggestion either man was targeted.

Angry residents took to the streets Tuesday, burning tyres and forcing shops to close
their doors, in protest at the government's failure to provide adequate security.

Opposition officials called for the ex-general to resign in the wake of the latest of dozens of bombings
that have rocked the nuclear-armed US ally over the past 12 months, claiming more than 800 lives.

"The rulers must admit their failure and quit," said Raja Zafar-ul Haq, the chairman
of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N.

He said the government's weakness was encouraging militant violence.

"The bombings have destabilised the economy and tarnished the country's
image. There are people who are trying to destabilise the country but
the government is doing nothing to deal with them," he said.

Mr Sharif, the man ousted by then-military chief Musharraf in a military coup in 1999, has repeatedly
called for the president's resignation since returning to the country from exile in November.

Police were on high alert in Karachi and thousands of paramilitary
forces were fanning out across Pakistan's largest city.

"We have deployed 10,000 personnel at all sensitive points and installations,"
Paramilitary Rangers spokesman Captain Mohammad Fazal said. Another 4000 were on standby.

The Monday evening blast ripped through a busy intersection outside
a factory as workers were buying food on their way home.

"There was no specific target, it was just meant to kill ordinary
civilians. The terrorists chose a soft target to spread panic and
terrorise society," interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema said.

Officials said the bloodshed was meant to force the government to push back the elections
again, a move that could further undermine stability in the Islamic republic of 160 million people.

It was one of three bombings in Pakistan on Monday night.

One person was wounded in a blast at a political party office in the northwestern city
of Peshawar, while a third explosion in the southwestern town of Hub caused no casualties.

On Tuesday a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a paramilitary post in the tribal region
near the Afghan border, the military said. There was no damage or casualties among security personnel.

That attack occurred in the same district as a major battle between Pakistani troops and
suspected Taliban extremists on Monday, in which seven soldiers and 23 militants were killed.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Seven soldiers, 23 militants killed in Pakistan clashes
14/ 01/ 2008

ISLAMABAD, January 14 (RIA Novosti) - At least seven Pakistani soldiers and 23 militants were
killed in a special operation in northwest Pakistan on Monday, national television reported.

The operation started early on Monday in response to an attack on a military convoy in Mohmand, a tribal
area bordering Afghanistan. The Pakistani army has deployed artillery, armor and combat helicopters.

"The fighting broke out when militants attacked a troop convoy,"
said Pakistani military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad.

Mohmand is part of Pakistan's so-called tribal region, which consists of seven semi-autonomous areas.
Mohmand residents live under strict tribal laws, following the customary pre-Islamic "code of honor" known as Pashtunwali.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"Pashtunwali ... or Pakhtunwali is a concept of living for
the Pashtun people, which dates back to the pre-Islamic era."

"Pashtunwali promotes core tenets including self-respect, independence, justice, hospitality, love, forgiveness, revenge and tolerance toward all (especially to strangers or guests)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashtunwali
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
There have been few prior reports of clashes between Mohmand tribesmen and government troops,
although neighboring regions are known for their support for Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda.

Some Western sources have claimed that al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and
his close aides could have found refuge in the mountainous Mohmand region.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080114/96585459.html
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
President Musharraf has come under mounting criticism for failing to stem the growth
of Islamic militancy fuelled by the US-led "war on terror" in neighbouring Afghanistan.

President Musharraf's spokesman Rashid Qureshi quoted the president as
saying the election schedule would not be changed again regardless of the violence.

It was the first bombing in Karachi since a double suicide attack on a parade to welcome Ms
Bhutto home from exile in October. Ms Bhutto survived that attack but 139 other people were killed.

The opposition leader and two-time former prime minister was eventually
killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack at an election rally in Rawalpindi
on December 27. The government has blamed militants linked with al-Qaida.

http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,23059586-401,00.html?from=public_rss