PAKISTAN: SECURITY HAS BEEN TIGHTENED FOLLOWING A CAR BOMB OUTSIDE THE U.S. CONSULATE IN KARACHI
Record ID:
358603
PAKISTAN: SECURITY HAS BEEN TIGHTENED FOLLOWING A CAR BOMB OUTSIDE THE U.S. CONSULATE IN KARACHI
- Title: PAKISTAN: SECURITY HAS BEEN TIGHTENED FOLLOWING A CAR BOMB OUTSIDE THE U.S. CONSULATE IN KARACHI
- Date: 14th June 2002
- Summary: KARACHI (JUNE 14, 2002) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV EXTERIOR OF CONSULATE BUILDING; SECURITY (3 SHOTS) 0.14 2. SLV FOREIGN INVESTIGATING OFFICIAL INSPECTING THE SPOT 0.27 3. SV GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL VISITING THE SPOT 0.33 4. SLV WRECKAGE OF A VEHICLE WRECKAGE OF A VEHICLE WITH SECURITY IN BACK GROUND 0.39 5. MCU (Urdu) PROVINC
- Embargoed: 29th June 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: KARACHI, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Reuters ID: LVA7XJ1DJ1JPZU51OKV1144PT1GL
- Story Text: Security has been tightened following a car bomb
outside the U.S. consulate in southern Karachi which killed at
least 11 people and wounded several.
In a new demonstration of anti-western sentiments , the
religious Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan party has held a protest
rally against the United Nations condemning its "ineffective
role" in resolving the long-standing issue of Kashmir.
Police said that Friday's (June 14) car bomb blast
outside the U.S. Consulate in southern Karachi city looked
like a suicide bombing, similar to the May 8 attack outside a
nearby hotel that killed 11 French engineers and two
Pakistanis.
A police official said Karachi police had received a tip-off
a week ago that another suicide blast was imminent but didn't
have any other details.
Friday's blast is the fourth attack apparently aimed at
foreigners in Pakistan this year.
The first was the kidnapping of U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl
in January, followed by a grenade attack on a church in
Islamabad in March which killed five people, including three
foreigners and the killing of the French engineers in May.
Around 20 cars were damaged and body parts scattered 100-200
metres (100-200 yards) away from the scene of the blast, which
was immediately cordoned off by police.
Mentioning the stringent security measures taken by the
government to guard the sensitive areas, provincial police
chief Syed Kamal Shah said the measures were satisfying
keeping in view the dead included two policemen who were
guarding the consulate.
"As far as the security is concerned, it was very much there
and two out of 7 among the dead are police men and three has
been injured who were on duty on the spot. You know the place
where (American)consulate is situated, it is a busy road and
the flow of the traffic on the road is always high so its the
case of explosion from among the traffic flow", said Sayed
Kamal Shah.
Police said they believed the bomb was in a white
high-roofed Suzuki van which was being driven past the
consulate at the time of the attack. The vehicle itself was
catapulted six or seven metres (yards) away and smashed into a
tree.
Security has been increased in the port city following the
attack.
Police assisted by paramilitary staff were seen patrollling
the area and checking vehicles.
The bomb blast took place less then a day after U.S. Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld left the country on a diplomatic
mission to ease tension between Pakistan and India.
Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack,
suspicion has fallen on Islamic radicals opposed to Pakistan's
support for the U.S. war on terror and angered by a crackdown
on militants ordered by President Pervez Musharraf.
Musharraf abandoned his Taliban allies in Afghanistan and
became a key U.S. ally after September 11, a move that
sparked violent reaction from Islamic radicals at home.
Militant groups were further angered when Musharraf launched a
crackdown on them in January.
That followed a bloody attack on the Indian parliament,
blamed by New Delhi on Pakistan-based militants, which took
the two countries to the brink of war.
Several attacks, either in India or Pakistan, have been
apparently timed to coincide with high-profile visits to the
region by officials from Washington.
Rumsfeld was visiting Pakistan on a regional tour aimed at
averting war with India, and Pakistan police said they feared
an attack was imminent.
Meanwhile, 20 noted religious and political parties
organised a protest demonstration in southern Karachi against
the killing of muslims in Kashmir and Palestine and the
"insignificant role" played by United Nations Organization to
resolve the issue peacefully and effectively.
Protesters chanted slogans "down with India", "down with
UNO" and held placards which read like "Self-Determination is
the birth (right) of people of Kashmir."
Protesters accused India of "penetrating" into neighbouring
countries who also happen to be members of SAARC (South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation) organization.
Protesters also called on the United Nations to resolve the
issue of Kashmir permanently according to the resolutions of
Kashmir.
"India has been infiltrating in Sri lanka, Nepal, Pakistan
and all other countries of SAARC, even in Bangladesh India has
always been a source of terrorism. We have together arranged
a protest, allthe parties who are here, by this protest, we
condemn Indian aggression. We demand UNO to implement the
resolutions of UNO about Kashmiris", said the Secretary
general of Jamiat Ulema-e- Pakistan Hanif Tayyab.
Tensions escalated between Pakistan and India, following a
bloody attack on Indian army camp in Indian Kashmir on May 14,
that killed around 30 people.
Since then several people have been killed as a result of
continuous cross border shelling and firing between India and
Pakistan.
Both Pakistan and India have fought three wars - two of them
over the disputed Kashmir - since they both gained
independence from Britain in 1947.
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