Day: October 18, 2007

Update From Pakistan

The Daily Times has now filed a story on the motorcade attack, From the Daily Times:

At least 132 people were killed and hundreds injured late on Thursday night as suspected suicide bombers targeted former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on her return from eight years in self-imposed exile.
Two explosions went off a minute apart shortly after midnight near Karsaz close to the vehicle Ms Bhutto was travelling in, at the head of a procession of hundreds of thousands of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) supporters who had flooded the streets of Karachi to welcome the return of their leader.
The attack bore the hallmarks of Al Qaeda and resembled assassination attempts by militants linked to the terrorist network on President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in recent years. Intelligence reports also warned of threats of suicide attacks against Ms Bhutto by militants linked to Al Qaeda, the Taliban and Baitullah Mehsud, the Sindh home secretary said on Wednesday.
“The blasts hit two police vehicles which were escorting the truck carrying Ms Bhutto. The target was the truck,” senior Karachi police official Azhar Farooqui told Reuters.
Benazir safe: Ms Bhutto was leading the procession to Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum, where she was to give a speech. However, after the two explosions, she was rushed to the safety of Bilawal House.
“Benazir Bhutto was immediately taken to her ancestral Bilawal House after the blast,” Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Cheema told AFP. “She’s absolutely safe.” Rehman Malik, an aide to Ms Bhutto who was travelling with her on the truck, said the blasts went off while she was resting inside the vehicle.

Here’s the story they originally filed, but had to run a late edition to add the update as the attack came close to their normal press time.

UPDATE: Owaish at All Things Pakistan has an update — like the other blogs, and like the crazy rants you see in newspaper comments here, you see commenters speculating dark plots. Some of their party affiliations clearly show through, just like the blogs in the US where commenters go way over the top to support their ideology.

UPDATE: The valid speculation as to who is responsible starts, I think Bill Roggio got it right, and Baitullah Mehsud would be my top pick as well.

 AP throws the laundry list of groups on the stack just to be safe, but they are really all just different fronts of the same AQ/Old-Guard ISI umbrella group. The mask they wear and name they bear depends on the occasion, as we were taught by the fictitious “Omar Al Baghdadi”, they must wear the popular clothes of the day if they are to gather adherents. As we’ve seen, sometimes the clothes of the day are even Hijabs for men.

Bottom line: regardless of party affiliation, all people in Pakistan should be able to gather and express political beliefs without fear. It’s a fundamental freedom.

Benazir in Karachi

UPDATE: 132 dead in twin blasts targetting Benazir Bhutto’s caravan. Benazir is safe, but casualties are still being counted. This is utmost evil, this is not a holy war by anyone — it’s an attempt to stop democracy in Pakistan by the extremists.  Story at IBN:

Two explosions went off Thursday night near a truck carrying former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on her celebratory return to Pakistan, killing more than 100 people and wounding at least 150, an official said.
Pakistan People’s Party workers and police said Bhutto, who returned on Thursday after eight years in self-imposed exiled, was unhurt.
An initial small explosion was followed by a huge blast just feet from the front of the truck carrying Bhutto during a procession to the tomb of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
The blast shattered windows in her vehicle and set a police escort vehicle on fire. Those traveling atop the truck with Bhutto climbed down, with one man jumping off while others used a ladder.
Police Chief Azhar Farooqi told Dawn News that Bhutto was rushed from the area under contingency plans. ”She was evacuated very safely and is now in Bilawal House,” Farooqi said, referring to Bhutto’s residence in Karachi

Here’s a link to the series of photos from the blasts, *warning some are graphic*

PREVIOUSLY 

Benazir Bhutto has landed in Karachi and greeted her supporters. They were hundreds of thousands of Pakistan People’s Party on hand to greet her, and many members of other parties who just seek change to status quo. Benazir will speak at a gathering tonight, more from AP/Breitbart.

Bhutto told the BBC upon arriving in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, on a flight from Dubai that she was “excited and overwhelmed” to be back in Pakistan.

“It just goes to show that miracles can happen,” Bhutto was quoted as saying. “I dreamt of this day for a very long time.”

Bhutto, who leads the Pakistan People’s Party and has twice served as the country’s prime minister, is widely tipped to become the next prime minister.

Asked if this is indeed her desire, she told the BBC, “If this is the honor that the people of Pakistan wish to accord to me, it would be a privilege for me to serve them.”

“But this is really something that the people must decide through free, fair and impartial elections.”