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10-18-2007, 05:31 PM
Pakistan Explosions Kill at Least (108 now), Bhutto Unhurt (Update1)
By Farhan Sharif
Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAs3u9IP3zRQ&refer=home) -- Two bombs exploded in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi near the truck in which former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was traveling after she arrived in the country ending eight years in self-imposed exile. Bhutto was unhurt.
At least 50 were killed and another 155 were injured and taken to various hospitals across Karachi, Sajjad Ali, a spokesman for Edhi Foundation, the country's largest ambulance service, said in a phone interview.
``Benazir and other leaders are all fine and have arrived at Bhutto's residence in a separate car,'' Jameel Soomro, a spokesman for Bhutto said in a phone interview from Bilawal House, Bhutto's residence in southern Karachi.
Pakistan's opposition leader Bhutto arrived in Pakistan yesterday afternoon to lead her party in national elections, after President Pervez Musharraf agreed to withdraw corruption cases against her. Bhutto, who has held the post of prime minister twice, landed at Karachi's Quaid-i-Azam International airport from Dubai as hundreds of thousands of her supporters gathered outside the terminal to welcome her back to the country.
Bhutto's truck was damaged in the explosions which took place just moments after her caravan passed through, GEO television reported. Several people lay injured amid shattered glass and blood-stained debris, according to television images.
Small Car
``One of the blasts could have taken place in a small car parked along the roadside and decorated with party flags,'' Azhar Ali Farooqi, Karachi's police chief told GEO television in an interview. ``There is also a possibility of a suicide explosion but we do not know yet.''
The former premier smiled and waved at her supporters as she left the airport standing atop an open-topped truck adorned with posters and crowded with party officials. Bhutto refused to stand behind the bullet-proof screen on the truck.
Bhutto's truck inched its way out of the Karachi airport, taking over ten hours to cover a distance of few miles. Hundreds of thousands of her supporters blocked the streets outside the terminal, scrambling onto her truck and climbing trees to see her.
She was leading a caravan to the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, where she was to address a rally. The rally was cancelled after the explosion, Soomro said.
A pro-Taliban militant leader from Pakistan's tribal region earlier this month threatened to kill Bhutto in a suicide attack.
Bhutto, 54, who leads the second biggest opposition party in Pakistan's 342-member parliament, lived in Dubai and London since 1999 to avoid allegations of misstating her wealth and taking kickbacks on state contracts.
To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net ; Farhan Sharif in Karachi at fsharif2@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 18, 2007 16:23 EDT
By Farhan Sharif
Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAs3u9IP3zRQ&refer=home) -- Two bombs exploded in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi near the truck in which former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was traveling after she arrived in the country ending eight years in self-imposed exile. Bhutto was unhurt.
At least 50 were killed and another 155 were injured and taken to various hospitals across Karachi, Sajjad Ali, a spokesman for Edhi Foundation, the country's largest ambulance service, said in a phone interview.
``Benazir and other leaders are all fine and have arrived at Bhutto's residence in a separate car,'' Jameel Soomro, a spokesman for Bhutto said in a phone interview from Bilawal House, Bhutto's residence in southern Karachi.
Pakistan's opposition leader Bhutto arrived in Pakistan yesterday afternoon to lead her party in national elections, after President Pervez Musharraf agreed to withdraw corruption cases against her. Bhutto, who has held the post of prime minister twice, landed at Karachi's Quaid-i-Azam International airport from Dubai as hundreds of thousands of her supporters gathered outside the terminal to welcome her back to the country.
Bhutto's truck was damaged in the explosions which took place just moments after her caravan passed through, GEO television reported. Several people lay injured amid shattered glass and blood-stained debris, according to television images.
Small Car
``One of the blasts could have taken place in a small car parked along the roadside and decorated with party flags,'' Azhar Ali Farooqi, Karachi's police chief told GEO television in an interview. ``There is also a possibility of a suicide explosion but we do not know yet.''
The former premier smiled and waved at her supporters as she left the airport standing atop an open-topped truck adorned with posters and crowded with party officials. Bhutto refused to stand behind the bullet-proof screen on the truck.
Bhutto's truck inched its way out of the Karachi airport, taking over ten hours to cover a distance of few miles. Hundreds of thousands of her supporters blocked the streets outside the terminal, scrambling onto her truck and climbing trees to see her.
She was leading a caravan to the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, where she was to address a rally. The rally was cancelled after the explosion, Soomro said.
A pro-Taliban militant leader from Pakistan's tribal region earlier this month threatened to kill Bhutto in a suicide attack.
Bhutto, 54, who leads the second biggest opposition party in Pakistan's 342-member parliament, lived in Dubai and London since 1999 to avoid allegations of misstating her wealth and taking kickbacks on state contracts.
To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net ; Farhan Sharif in Karachi at fsharif2@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 18, 2007 16:23 EDT