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Schools closed in Pakistan after bombing
10/21/2009

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Educational institutions were shut in Pakistan on Wednesday after suspected militants bombed a university close to the capital, sowing fear across the country as the army presses on with a major anti-Taliban offensive.

Tuesday's twin suicide attack on the International Islamic University represented a widening of targets by the militants that surprised many Pakistanis and triggered fresh outrage in a country all too used to terror. It appeared aimed at denting the resolve of the country to fight the insurgents in their northwestern stronghold near the Afghan border.

"Godless, kill in God's name," read the headline of The News daily.

The death toll in the attacks rose to eight overnight, including two females and the two attackers, said Dr. Wasim Khwaja, a spokesman for Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad. All but one of the victims were students.

Interior Ministry spokesman Rashid Mazari said schools and colleges would be closed until the end of the week so they can improve security measures.

The attacks, the latest in a surge in recent weeks across the country, occurred as troops were pressing ahead with a five-day-old offensive in South Waziristan. The army, which claims to have killed some 90 militants, said it was meeting tough resistance.

An Associated Press reporter met three Taliban fighters Tuesday traveling in a car with darkened windows at Shaktoi, a town close to the border between South and North Waziristan, which is also home to thousands of Islamist militants but is not the focus of the current operation. They were carrying assault rifles, grenades and radios.

One of the men, who gave his name as Askari, said they had come from South Waziristan, where they and other fighters had pushed the army back from Kotkai, the birthplace of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and a major strategic prize.

"We are inflicting heavy losses on them," he said.

Their account was consistent with one provided by two intelligence officials, who said the army had been close to taking it but were repelled. They asked that their names not be used for operational reasons.

It is nearly impossible to independently verify information coming from South Waziristan because the army has closed off all roads to the region. Analysts say both sides have exaggerated successes and downplayed loses in the past.

The university in Islamabad is attended by 18,000 students. It has close to 2,000 international students, many from China. While it is a seat of Islamic learning, most students take secular courses such as management science or computer studies.

Many students did not accept that militants were responsible for the attack and instead blamed shadowy forces out to discredit Islam or weaken Pakistan — variations of conspiracy theories that are often heard here after bombings.

"It shows clearly that anti-Islamic elements are involved in these attacks," said economics student Abul Hassan. - AP

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/175178/schools-closed-in-pakistan-after-bombing