[NYTr] Aftermath of Pakistan bomb blast: Bhutto Vows to Continue

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Channel 4 News - Snowmail (UK) - Oct 19, 2007
http://www.channel4.com

Aftermath of Pakistan bomb blast  
================================

The aftermath of the catastrophic assault on Benazir Bhutto’s convoy
last night continues. Bhutto’s people suspect the dark forces of
Pakistan’s intelligence service, General Musharraf prefers to blame
other of his political enemies. Jonathan Rugman is on the ground in
Karachi and we’ll have a full account from him at 7. See the report
online here: 

Channel 4 News - Oct 19, 2007 <-- Video link also here
http://tinyurl.com/yprzkm

Bhutto defiant after bomb attack

By Jonathan Rugman

After a bomb attack on her convoy in Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto said, "We
are prepared to risk our lives. We're prepared to risk our liberty. But
we're not prepared to surrender this great nation to militants."

Warning: You may be disturbed by some of the images in the video.

The attack claimed more than 130 lives and the former Prime Minister,
who has returned to Pakistan after eight years of exile, described it
as an attack on the very integrity of her country.

The top security official in the province, Ghulam Muhammad Mohtarem,
said the attack bore the hallmarks of pro-Taliban warlord Baitullah
Mehsud and al Qaida.

Ms Bhutto has earned the enmity of fundamentalist groups in Pakistan
because of her support for the US-led war on terror.

But one of Mehsud's associates in the lawless north west of Pakistan
denied Taliban involvement, saying: "The government's secret agencies
are involved in it. This was an effort to provoke common people and
create hatred against the Taliban."

A spokesman for Pervez Musharraf said he had expressed his shock and
profound grief in a phone call to Ms Bhutto, who was able to return
from exile thanks to an amnesty he offered in relation to corruption
charges brought in 1999.

He said: "The President and Mrs Bhutto both expressed their unflinching
resolve to fight this scourge of extremism and terrorism. They also
agreed that there was a need for the entire nation to unite in order to
rid the country of this menace of suicide bombings, terrorism and
extremism."

General Musharraf resolved to "bring the perpetrators of this heinous
crime to justice".

As messages of support flooded in from around the world, a spokesman
for United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said he "strongly
condemns this terrorist attack and expresses condolences to the
families of the victims".