Chicago Tribune : Blasts jolt Bhutto's return to Pakistan

Blasts jolt Bhutto's return to Pakistan

Bombs kill over 100, just missing leader

By Kim Barker | Tribune foreign correspondent | October 19, 2007

KARACHI, Pakistan — The triumphant return of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto turned to bloody chaos early Friday when two bombs exploded about 10 yards from the truck ferrying her through crowds of supporters, killing as many as 126 people and raising the specter of further political instability in the troubled country.

More than 500 people were injured, including a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., and the death toll was expected to rise. Bhutto was not injured.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but among the suspects were Islamic militants opposed to a possible power-sharing deal between Bhutto and U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf.

The explosions happened about 81/2 hours and 6 miles into Bhutto's slow caravan from Karachi's airport, where she arrived Thursday afternoon to jammed streets and crowds of hundreds of thousands of supporters after eight years in self-imposed exile. She was headed toward the tomb of Pakistan's founder, where she had planned to make a speech.

Instead, Bhutto, who at the time of the blasts was resting inside a specially made armored truck, was rushed out of the back of her vehicle and taken safely home, Karachi Police Chief Azhar Farooqi said. He said that if she had not been in the truck, she could have been killed. "Definitely so," he said.

Her supporters blamed the police and the government for failing to provide enough security for Bhutto, whose life had been threatened in recent weeks.

"They failed, you know," said Abid Shaikh, a member of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party who was in the convoy. "There were serious threats. They already knew this could happen."

The attacks create even more uncertainty in the nuclear-armed nation, which has appeared to be coming apart at the seams in recent months. Islamic militants have intensified their insurgency in the country's wild border areas, and Al Qaeda is regrouping. Musharraf is facing the biggest political crisis of his career, as more and more people call for him to step down as army chief.

In some ways, Bhutto was seen by the West as the potential solution to all the country's problems. With encouragement from Washington, Musharraf and Bhutto had reportedly negotiated a deal that dropped corruption charges against Bhutto and eventually would allow her to seek an unprecedented third term as prime minister. Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, had also agreed to take off his army uniform if elected president. In return, he would get Bhutto's significant political support.

The unlikely pairing of one-time rivals Musharraf and Bhutto, whose father was hanged by the military men who overthrew him, was seen by the U.S. as the best way to ensure stability in Pakistan and fight the war on terror. Recent statements by Bhutto have been even more pro-American than those of Musharraf; while they have played well in the West, they have angered many in Pakistan.

Deal in doubt

On Friday morning, any deal was thrown into doubt. Still in Dubai, Bhutto's husband suggested that the understanding between Bhutto and the government might need to be re-examined.

No one claimed responsibility for the blasts, but there could be many suspects. A Taliban leader in Pakistan had threatened last week to "welcome" Bhutto with suicide bombers.

The governing party in Karachi and the surrounding Sindh province has been accused of politically violent attacks in the past and has always disliked Bhutto. Some Bhutto supporters early Friday said they suspected people inside the government could be responsible.

"What can we say?" said Raja Mubasher, a Bhutto supporter who was just in front of her truck when the bombs exploded. "No political worker can do this. No Muslim can do this. Who knows what people want to make of this country."

In an interview with the Tribune on Sunday, Bhutto said she was not worried about threats from Islamic militants.

"I don't think about the threats that have been made to me, because I have faith in God," Bhutto said. "If there is a threat, there is a threat from inside the government."

She ignored government requests to take a helicopter from the airport because of fears for her safety.

Once Bhutto arrived from Dubai on Thursday, she seemed almost oblivious to the risk. Security was supposed to be tight, with 8,000 police officers and 3,500 Bhutto security workers wearing T-shirts saying they would die for her. Her vehicle was armored, and a special green bullet-proof screen had been set up on the roof, but Bhutto ignored it.

Defied precautions

Instead, for most of her journey, she stood at the front of the platform roof on the converted truck, surrounded by party faithful, and waved at the crowd. Although barricades had been set up late Wednesday near her planned route, people were able to get through them fairly easily and even pushed back a police charge near the airport, flooding inside. No one was searched.

By midnight Thursday, many security officers also seemed tired, witnesses said. "This was at a time when the police escort was pretty exhausted," said Naveed Ahmed, a reporter for Geo TV.

Farooqi discounted complaints about security. "It was not because of fatigue or anything that this incident occurred," he said.

Just before the explosions, Bhutto descended into the truck's cabin to rest.

The blasts ripped apart two parked vehicles on the side of the road and blew apart a nearby police truck. Witnesses said the first blast happened in one of the parked vehicles, where a suicide bomber blew up his car. They said the second bomb exploded in the police truck.

But Farooqi said the two blasts happened in two cars parked on the roadside. He said the police vehicle was blown up by their explosions.

The first blast scattered people. Men sat in shock, missing their legs. Blood covered the street. People ran in all directions screaming, and then the second blast happened. Shortly after that, four shots were fired at the bulletproof glass atop the truck where Bhutto was supposed to be sitting. Karachi's main hospitals looked like combat units, filled with the injured and their wailing families.

The death toll was thought to be the highest in Pakistan's history.

At the blast site, a Pakistan People's Party banner was draped over the head and torso of the man that several police officers said was the suicide bomber.

For hours after the explosions, ambulance workers tried to pick up body parts of victims to bury them according to Islamic law.

"It's against humanity," Mubasher said.

Occasionally, a few men would shout "Long live Bhutto" or "Long live Benazir," but the slogans shouted all day Thursday had become half-hearted, and the welcoming tents on the roadside sat empty.

Her truck still sat near the blast site, proclaiming that Bhutto was "voice of the voiceless, weapon of the weak, strength of the downtrodden."

kbarker@tribune.com

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