'We will not be scared of these cowards' vows Zardari
ZARAR KHAN
Associated Press
Rescuers pulled more bodies from the shell of the truck-bombed Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital Sunday, pushing the death toll from one of the country's worst terrorist strikes to 53, including the Czech ambassador and two Americans. A Danish diplomat is still missing.
The hotel, a favourite spot for foreigners and the Pakistani elite — and a previous target of militants — still smouldered from a fire that raged for hours after the previous day's explosion, which also wounded more than 250 people.
The targeting of the American hotel chain came at a time of growing anger in the Muslim nation over a wave of cross-border strikes on militant bases in Pakistan by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.No group immediately claimed responsibility, though suspicion fell on al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban. Analysts said the attack served as a warning from Islamic militants to Pakistan's new civilian leadership to stop co-operating with the U.S.-led war on terror.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the bomber attacked the hotel only after tight security prevented him from reaching Parliament or the prime minister's office, where the president and many dignitaries were gathered for dinner."The purpose was to destabilize democracy," Mr. Gilani said. "They want to destroy us economically."
The government released footage from a hotel surveillance camera showing the heavy truck turning left into the gate at speed, ramming a metal barrier and coming to a halt about 18 metres away from the hotel.Guards nervously came forward to look, then scattered after an initial small explosion.
Several guards tried repeatedly to douse flames spreading through the cab of the truck as traffic continued to pass on the road behind. There is no sign of movement in the truck and the footage played did not show the final blast.
The owner of the hotel accused security forces of a serious lapse in allowing a dump truck to approach the hotel unchallenged and not shooting the driver before he could trigger the explosives.
"If I were there and had seen the suicide bomber, I would have killed him. Unfortunately, they didn't," Sadruddin Hashwani said.Officials said vehicles carrying construction materials are allowed to move after sunset, meaning the sight of a dump truck near the government quarters might not have aroused suspicion.
Rescue teams searched the blackened hotel room by room Sunday, but the temperatures remained high, and fires were still being put out in some parts. Officials feared the main building would collapse.The bomb went off close to 8 p.m. Saturday, when the restaurants inside would have been packed with Muslim diners breaking their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
Interior Ministry Chief Rehman Malik said the bomb contained an estimated 590 kilograms of military-grade explosives as well as artillery and mortar shells and left a crater 18 metres wide and 7 metres deep in front of the main building.
Khalid Hussain Abbasi, a rescue official, confirmed that six new bodies had been found, but would not say if the dead were foreigners. He said he expected more charred remains to be discovered.
Mr. Gilani said the death toll had reached "about 53" and that Czech Ambassador Ivo Zdarek was among the dead. Mr. Zdarek, 47, only moved to Islamabad in August after four years as ambassador to Vietnam.
Mr. Malik said two Americans were confirmed dead as well as one Vietnamese national. Officials in Pakistan said at least 21 foreigners were among the wounded, including Britons, Germans, Americans and several people from the Middle East.TV footage showed at least two bodies partially visible from the wrecked facade Sunday morning. Outside, the hotel was surrounded by torched vehicles and debris.
The bombing came just hours after President Asif Ali Zardari made his first address to Parliament, about a kilometre away from the hotel. Mr. Malik said authorities received intelligence there might be militant activity linked to Mr. Zardari's address and security had been tightened.The attack drew condemnations from around the world, including the United States, which has pressured Pakistan to do more to wipe out militant hide-outs on its side of the Afghan border. Washington worries about Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters using Pakistan as a training, recruiting and regrouping ground to aid the insurgency in Afghanistan.
President George W. Bush said the attack was "a reminder of the ongoing threat faced by Pakistan, the United States, and all those who stand against violent extremism."
A recent series of suspected U.S. missile strikes and a rare American ground assault in Pakistan's northwest have signalled Washington's impatience with Pakistan's efforts to clear out militants. But the cross-border operations have drawn protests from the Pakistani government, which warned they would fan militancy.
Terrorism researcher Evan Kohlmann told the AP the attack was almost certainly the work of either al-Qaeda or the Pakistani Taliban."It seems that someone has a firm belief that hotels like the Marriott are serving as 'barracks' for Western diplomats and intel personnel, and they are gunning pretty hard for them," Mr. Kohlmann said.
The Marriott blast could prompt diplomats and aid groups in Islamabad, some of whom already operate under tight security, to re-evaluate whether nonessential staff and family members should stay. U.N. officials met Sunday to discuss the security situation and, for now, made no decision to change their measures, said Amena Kamaal, a spokeswoman.
Mr. Zardari, who on Sunday was headed to New York to lead a delegation to the United Nations and was expected to meet with Mr. Bush during the week, spoke out against the cross-border strikes in his speech to Parliament. He condemned the "cowardly attack" afterward in an address to the nation.
"Make this pain your strength," he said. "This is a menace, a cancer in Pakistan which we will eliminate. We will not be scared of these cowards."
No comments:
Post a Comment