Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
February 26, 2008
Pg. 3
By Salman Masood
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A top Pakistani Army general was killed Monday when a suicide attacker approached his car at a traffic light in Rawalpindi and blew himself up, military officials said.
In a separate development, three Pakistani workers were killed when bombs exploded at the office of Plan International, a British aid agency, in Mansehra in the North-West Frontier Province, according to Pakistani officials.
In addition to killing the surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Mushtaq Ahmad Baig, the attack on his staff car claimed the lives of eight other people, including the attacker and five civilians.
The attack took place at 2:45 p.m. in a crowded commercial neighborhood in Rawalpindi, a garrison town just outside the capital, Islamabad. The blast tore through a busy road and damaged at least four vehicles. The general’s car was mangled.
More than 25 people were wounded, including several pedestrians. One pedestrian, a woman, was among those killed. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Pakistani officials said the suicide bomber was on foot when he attacked the car. “The attacker was a pedestrian who was waiting for the target,” said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the main spokesman for the Pakistani military. “At a traffic signal, he approached the vehicle and blew himself up.”
General Abbas said the bomber had not singled out the medical corps as a target. “In my judgment, he was just waiting for a senior army officer,” the general said. “When he saw a staff car with the signature of a senior officer, he carried out the attack.”
General Baig’s guard and driver in the car were also killed. General Baig led the Army Medical Corps and was the principal of the Army Medical College in Rawalpindi.
Plan International, an agency working for children, said that the motive for the attack on its office in Mansehra was not known and that the agency had not been given a warning. Six to 12 armed men burst into the office and set off the bombs, a statement on the agency’s Web site said.
“The men, who were carrying guns and grenades, marched into the office and fired indiscriminately before setting off the devices at 4:15 p.m. local time,” the statement said. In addition to those killed, the statement said, one staff member was critically wounded and the office was “burned to the ground.”
In recent months, Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistani Army, has been the scene of a spate of attacks on military personnel, including officials from the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and opposition leader, was assassinated at a political rally in Rawalpindi on Dec. 27.
The car bombing on Monday was the second recent attack on officers in the Army Medical Corps. Last month, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed a military bus carrying doctors in Rawalpindi, killing six people.
Pakistan’s military has been battling militants in the country’s semiautonomous northwestern tribal regions straddling the border with Afghanistan. In retaliatory attacks, the militants have aimed at military installations and personnel.
Pakistani officials have blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal militant sympathetic to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, for the attacks on the military. Mr. Mehsud is from the restive South Waziristan tribal region.
However, Mr. Mehsud had declared a cease-fire before the recent parliamentary elections, and other groups are active in the tribal region.
The suicide attack took place as militants sympathetic to the Taliban in the tribal areas issued statements to the Pakistani news media urging the new government to stop the military operations and initiate dialogue to restore peace.
Pakistani political parties are in negotiations to form a government after the Feb. 18 elections, in which the Pakistan Peoples Party of Ms. Bhutto emerged with the most seats.
No political party secured a majority in the Parliament, and the next government is expected to be a coalition led by the Peoples Party.
Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and opposition leader who heads the Pakistan Muslim League-N, has said he will support the Peoples Party in forming a government.
On Monday, Mr. Sharif reiterated his demand that President Pervez Musharraf resign. “Musharraf should realize the situation; accept the verdict of the people,” Mr. Sharif said at a news briefing in Islamabad.”
In a signal that he was opposed to the use of force and military operations in the tribal areas, Mr. Sharif urged a different approach.
“We want to know whose war of terror it is,” Mr. Sharif said. “What is the definition of this war on terror? Only after that we can decide whether to use bullets or dialogue.” Mr. Sharif was echoing a popular sentiment here among many Pakistanis who view Mr. Musharraf as blindly following America’s orders.
“Britain solved the Northern Ireland issue with dialogue,” Mr. Sharif said. “When we can talk with India, can’t we talk with our own?”
February 26, 2008
Pg. 3
By Salman Masood
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A top Pakistani Army general was killed Monday when a suicide attacker approached his car at a traffic light in Rawalpindi and blew himself up, military officials said.
In a separate development, three Pakistani workers were killed when bombs exploded at the office of Plan International, a British aid agency, in Mansehra in the North-West Frontier Province, according to Pakistani officials.
In addition to killing the surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Mushtaq Ahmad Baig, the attack on his staff car claimed the lives of eight other people, including the attacker and five civilians.
The attack took place at 2:45 p.m. in a crowded commercial neighborhood in Rawalpindi, a garrison town just outside the capital, Islamabad. The blast tore through a busy road and damaged at least four vehicles. The general’s car was mangled.
More than 25 people were wounded, including several pedestrians. One pedestrian, a woman, was among those killed. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Pakistani officials said the suicide bomber was on foot when he attacked the car. “The attacker was a pedestrian who was waiting for the target,” said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the main spokesman for the Pakistani military. “At a traffic signal, he approached the vehicle and blew himself up.”
General Abbas said the bomber had not singled out the medical corps as a target. “In my judgment, he was just waiting for a senior army officer,” the general said. “When he saw a staff car with the signature of a senior officer, he carried out the attack.”
General Baig’s guard and driver in the car were also killed. General Baig led the Army Medical Corps and was the principal of the Army Medical College in Rawalpindi.
Plan International, an agency working for children, said that the motive for the attack on its office in Mansehra was not known and that the agency had not been given a warning. Six to 12 armed men burst into the office and set off the bombs, a statement on the agency’s Web site said.
“The men, who were carrying guns and grenades, marched into the office and fired indiscriminately before setting off the devices at 4:15 p.m. local time,” the statement said. In addition to those killed, the statement said, one staff member was critically wounded and the office was “burned to the ground.”
In recent months, Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistani Army, has been the scene of a spate of attacks on military personnel, including officials from the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and opposition leader, was assassinated at a political rally in Rawalpindi on Dec. 27.
The car bombing on Monday was the second recent attack on officers in the Army Medical Corps. Last month, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed a military bus carrying doctors in Rawalpindi, killing six people.
Pakistan’s military has been battling militants in the country’s semiautonomous northwestern tribal regions straddling the border with Afghanistan. In retaliatory attacks, the militants have aimed at military installations and personnel.
Pakistani officials have blamed Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal militant sympathetic to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, for the attacks on the military. Mr. Mehsud is from the restive South Waziristan tribal region.
However, Mr. Mehsud had declared a cease-fire before the recent parliamentary elections, and other groups are active in the tribal region.
The suicide attack took place as militants sympathetic to the Taliban in the tribal areas issued statements to the Pakistani news media urging the new government to stop the military operations and initiate dialogue to restore peace.
Pakistani political parties are in negotiations to form a government after the Feb. 18 elections, in which the Pakistan Peoples Party of Ms. Bhutto emerged with the most seats.
No political party secured a majority in the Parliament, and the next government is expected to be a coalition led by the Peoples Party.
Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and opposition leader who heads the Pakistan Muslim League-N, has said he will support the Peoples Party in forming a government.
On Monday, Mr. Sharif reiterated his demand that President Pervez Musharraf resign. “Musharraf should realize the situation; accept the verdict of the people,” Mr. Sharif said at a news briefing in Islamabad.”
In a signal that he was opposed to the use of force and military operations in the tribal areas, Mr. Sharif urged a different approach.
“We want to know whose war of terror it is,” Mr. Sharif said. “What is the definition of this war on terror? Only after that we can decide whether to use bullets or dialogue.” Mr. Sharif was echoing a popular sentiment here among many Pakistanis who view Mr. Musharraf as blindly following America’s orders.
“Britain solved the Northern Ireland issue with dialogue,” Mr. Sharif said. “When we can talk with India, can’t we talk with our own?”