Bhutto escapes bid on life; 139 killed, over 500 injured

KARACHI: In the worst ever terror strike in Pakistan, at least 139 people were killed and over 500 others injured when a suicide bomber targeting former Prime Minister Benzair Bhutto blew himself up during her homecoming procession late on Thursday night but she escaped unhurt.

The bomber struck just 10 to 15 ft away from the especially refurbished armoured truck in which 54-year-old Bhutto was travelling along with close aides as the procession which was moving towards the tomb of Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah reached the Karsaz area of this port city at about midnight.

A grenade exploded seconds before the suicide bomber struck ripping through a police van in front of Bhutto's truck, which was also damaged, killing mostly supporters of Pakistan People's Party leader who had thronged the streets in hundreds and thousands to greet her.

Bhutto, who was on her way to Jinnah mausoleum after arriving in Pakistan following eight years in self-exile, had climbed down into the truck after waving to the crowds when the attack took place. She was immediately rescued and whisked away to her residence, Bilawal House, by security personnel and PPP workers, as people ran helter-skelter fearing for their lives.

"Bhutto is safe and was taken to her home here," PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

Sindh Governor Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan said Bhutto was the 'prime target' but she was safe because of the security.

     
It was a suicide attack, Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid said.
     
Khan put the death toll at 139 and said 266 of the injured were being treated in various hospitals while 160 others with minor injuries had been released after first aid.
     
However, local media said over 500 people were injured in the twin blasts.
     
"It is the biggest toll we have in this terrorist attacks.... Law and order enforcement agencies are on high alert throughout the province nad we are keeping watch on the situation," the governor said.
     
"It was an act of terrorism targeting Benazir Bhutto and aimed at sabotaging the democratic process," Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said.
    
Police said the bomber was carrying about 10 to 15 kg of explosives.
     
Moving amid pools of blood, shattered glass and charred tyres and vehicles, people carried the injured on their shoulders to the nearest vehicle to transport them to hospitals which struggled to attend to the rush.
    
Heaps of footwear and debris of destroyed vehicles lay scattered at the blasts site on Friday where Bhutto's badly burnt vehicle bore a grim reminder of the ferocity of the attack.
     
The roads, which were choked with some 2.5 lakh PPP workers, emptied rapidly after the explosions. The mood on the streets swiftly turned to anger, with many chanting anti-government slogans.
      
Angry protesters tried to set afire a petrol pump during a protest. The government of Sindh province said all educational institutions in Karachi and Larkana, Bhutto's hometown, would remain closed on Friday.
     
City police chief Azhar Farooqi said 'necessary measures' were adopted to protect Bhutto but the blasts occurred despite these precautions.
     
"We had a contingency plan to evacuate the VIP. That was put into action immediately and she was taken to Bilawal House," the police chief said, adding a special team will probe the attack.
     
Bhutto, who held a meeting with senior PPP leaders, demanded the sacking of the chief of Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau for failing to prevent the attack.
    
Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari alleged A Pakistani intelligence agency was behind the attack.
    
"We blame one intelligence agency and we demand action against it... it is not done by militants, it is done by that intelligence agency," Zardari, who stayed behind in Dubai, told Geo News.
     
"It is a pattern that would suggest the attack was planned meticulously and conducted expertly - certainly not by a novice," he said
     
The blasts came despite massive security arrangements, with over 20,000 security personnel being deployed to protect the PPP leader after local Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud warned that suicide bombers would be waiting to 'receive' her.
    
The former premier was unfazed by these threats and had said she believed no 'true Muslim' would attack a woman.
     
Bhutto, whose comments about cooperating with the US to tackle terrorism in Pakistan have angered militants, said she wanted to 'isolate extremism'.
      
President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz condemned the blasts and said the government was determined to trace those responsible for the attacks and give them 'exemplary punishment'.
     
Musharraf, who recently issued an ordinance to drop corruption cases against Bhutto to pave the way for her homecoming apparently under a power-sharing deal, described the blasts as a 'conspiracy against democracy'.
     
As Bhutto's motorcade made its way from Jinnah International Airport, where she had arrived in an Emirates flight from Dubai on Thursday, to the mausoleum of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it took nine hours to cover a distance of about seven kilometres.
     
At one point, it covered just one kilometre in over three hours due to the large number of people crowding the roads.
     
A rally that was to be addressed by Bhutto at the mausoleum was cancelled after the attack.
     
Senior government officials held a meeting in Islamabad to review Bhutto's security and advised the PPP to ask her to restrict her movements and public engagements.
    
Benazir Bhutto has called for a three day mourning for the blast victims.
    
The first blast sparked panic and prompted PPP workers to run away from Bhutto's truck. The second larger blast caused mayhem and destruction, setting several cars ablaze and hurling shrapnel and debris in all directions.
    
TV channels beamed grainy footage of the attack that showed people running in a daze, their clothes ripped off by its impact, shielding their ears and clutching bloody wounds.
    
The federal health ministry sent a team with medicines to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College (JPMC) where many of the injured were admitted.
    
Sanaullah, a 12-year-old blasts victim, succumbed to his injuries at the Civil Hospital this morning.
    
The boy was carried to hospital from the scene of attack by his father Meherullah. "We tried our best but his condition was critical," doctors at the hospital said.
    
Kamal Ayubi, in-charge of the Civil Hospital's casualty department, said 26 bodies and 48 injured persons were brought to the facility.
    
Cameraman of a television channel, Muhammad Arif, who died in the blasts, was due to be transferred to the channel's London office. His colleagues described him as a jolly person who was popular and respected for his hard work.

The channel's management had asked him to go to London after covering Bhutto's return.
    
Nearly 70 bodies were brought to the mortuary of Edhi Welfare Centre on Friday.
    
While 20 bodies were taken away by relatives of the dead, the remaining 50 were still at the Centre's morgue.
    
Most markets and shops in Karachi remained closed in the morning. Traffic was thin on the city's usually teeming roads and attendance in offices was low. Educational institutions were closed in keeping with an order issued by the Sindh Governor.
    
Security was tightened in major cities across the country, including Lahore and Quetta, where police were on high alert.
    
Additional contingents of security forces were deployed on key roads of Quetta.
    
Confirming that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said a joint team of investigators and explosives experts was probing the incident.
    
Sleuths sifted through debris at the blast site to gather clues.
    
Crowd of reporters stood outside Bilawal House, the home of Bhutto, hoping to hear from the former premier.
    
Large number of Pakistani and foreign journalists were not allowed to enter a media annexe outside the house and even PPP leaders were being asked to prove their identity before being allowed inside.
    
Gun-toting guards were seen all round the residence as part of stepped up security for Bhutto.