Musharraf in an all out fight against terrorists
Islamabad (AsiaNews) – Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff has for the time being ruled imposing a state of emergency on the country in the wake of the recent wave of violence. Official sources said however that he was committed to an all out fight against terrorists linked to Taliban groups and that now the country faced a “frontal clash” between moderates and extremists.
Musharraf vowed to root out not only those who carry out suicide attacks but also those who organise the actions. He reiterated his commitment to lead the country into the next presidential elections at the end of the year or in early 2008.
In the meantime attacks against the military and the civil population continue. Today 17 soldiers died and 13 were wounded in an ambush in Waziristan, 25 km from the town of Miranshah, in the northern part of the country, in a tribal area near the border of Afghanistan. Islamists also suffered the loss of 17 militants.
In a suicide attack yesterday three soldiers and a civilian also died.
In another attack 16 people were killed and more than 50 injured in Islamabad when a suicide attacker blew himself up last night near a lawyers’ rally where Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was scheduled to speak to his supporters.
The powerful blast went off at about 8:30 pm at a reception camp set up by the Pakistan People’s Party, some 50 metres from the stage where Chaudhry was supposed to speak.
After the explosion smoke filled the air with scores of the injured lying everywhere. Human body parts were scattered all over and blood splattered even the stage.
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