Four parcel bombs explode in Pakistan

Associated Press - breaking news | October 16, 2002 | AFZAL NADEEM

[NYer]

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) _ Four small parcel bombs exploded within minutus of each other at police and government offices in the volatile port city of Karachi on Wednesday, injuring at least nine people, police said. A fifth bomb was sent to a police station but did not go off.

At least one of the parcels had ``From Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal,'' written on it, said Sindh province Home Secretary Mukhtar Ahmad Sheikh, a reference to the United Action Front, a coalition of anti-American religious parties that made unprecedented gains in last week's national elections. Sheikh said, however, that authorities had no reason to believe the group was actually behind the attacks. ``At the moment we cannot say who is involved,'' Sheikh said. Another police official, Tariq Jamil, said other parcels had similar messages written on them.

In Islamabad, one of the religious bloc's leaders, Riaz Durrani, condemned the attacks and termed them a conspiracy against Islamic parties. ``By writing the name of Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal on one of the parcels, some terrorists have tried to damage our cause ... We are against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,'' he said. ``We know anti-Islamic elements want to defame us with such acts.'' Officials at Jinnah hospital said nine wounded had been brought in, the most serious of them with his hand blown off, said Dr. Seemi Jamali. He said the man's other hand would also need to be amputated. Other victims had injuries to the chest, neck, face and hands. ``The others are in stable condition but they are in shock,'' said Jamali, the head of the hospital's casualty department.

Three of the bombs were sent to the Crimes Investigation police station. The first went off immediately, lightly injuring two policemen, said Sindh province police chief Syed Kamal Shah. A second device sent to the police station went off later, as police were trying to defuse it, and a third did not detonate. Another parcel bomb went off at a government office in Karachi and a fifth exploded at the Artillery Ground police offices.

Hundreds of police and paramilitary rangers rushed to the scenes and quickly surrounded the buildings where the bombs went off. In Islamabad, Interior Ministry official Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema said it was not clear who was behind the bombings. Sheikh said a man injured in one of the explosions was being detained as a suspect in the bombings. He termed the attacks an ``act of terrorism.''

The United Action Front ran on an anti-American platform, winning control of the government in the Northwest Frontier, a province along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The party _ which says it wants to institute Islamic law in Pakistan _ also made gains in another province and became the third largest bloc in the national parliament, making it a serious player in talks to form a coalition government. Since the election, several leaders of the religious coalition have softened their rhetoric, saying they welcomed improved ties with the United States and were willing to negotiate over the presence of U.S. bases in Pakistani soil.

At the Crime Investigation office, a large pool of blood covered the floor, windows were shattered, and a table blown apart. Witnesses said the first bomb blew up in the face of a police official who opened it. The second bomb, which exploded at the provincial government office, appeared to be the largest. The bomb went off as a security guard was attempting to open the parcel. ``This was the more powerful explosion because it caused more damage,'' said Jamil, the deputy inspector of police operations.

City Police Chief Shaukat Shah said the bomb that exploded in the Artillery Ground offices blew off the hand of an office worker and caused considerable damage to the room he was in. Blood and pieces of flesh were littered around, he said. A third parcel bomb sent to the Crimes Investigation department did not explode, said Manzoor Mughal, a senior police investigator. He said a grenade inside was rigged to explode by a string inside the package once opened.

The Crimes Investigation department has played a key role in arresting dozens of members of Islamic militant groups responsible for a recent spate of attacks on foreigners. Police and government workers have been ordered not to open any delivered packages, police officials said.

Karachi, frequently hit by sectarian bombing and shooting attacks, has been the scene of four major violent incidents this year: the massacre of seven Christian office workers last month, the June 14 bombing of the U.S. Consulate, the May 8 suicide bombing outside the Sheraton Hotel that killed 11 French engineers and the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. With a population of 12 million, Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism.

AP-ES-10-16-02 1004EDT

[NYer]

Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism.

A hotbed of kooks and buffoons!