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Five killed in blast near U.S. consulate in Karachi

B. Muralidhar Reddy

American diplomat dies in suicide bombing ahead of Bush's visit

ISLAMABAD: Five persons, including a U.S. diplomat, were killed and 50 others injured in a case of suspected suicide bombing outside the American consulate in Karachi on Thursday.

The blast which took place less than 48 hours before the scheduled visit of U.S. President George W. Bush is seen by diplomatic and political observers as a clear message by forces opposed to the war against terror led by the U.S. and its allies including Pakistan.

Following preliminary investigation, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said here the explosion could have been triggered by a vehicle positioned next to a consulate car.

He said the authorities had gathered several clues from the video recording through the closed circuit television in the high security zone. He said there were no indications yet about the identity of the assailants.

The Minister said Mr. Bush's visit would go as per the plan.

Reports from Karachi said the blast ripped through the car park of a nearby five-star, destroying at least 10 cars, damaging others including some from the U.S. mission and smashing windows.

The U.S. diplomat's car apparently flew through the air and fell on the other side of a seven-foot high wall. There were two other American diplomats in it.

President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz condemned the blast saying it was the handiwork of elements inimical to the interests of Pakistan and Islam.

They vowed to bring the culprits to justice at the earliest and vowed to continue their fight against terrorism.

Beyond the public posturing, the establishment is clearly shaken by the incident. The timing and place is a clear embarrassment to the Musharraf regime and is bound to cloud the high-security visit of Mr. Bush.

Furious speculation

Such is the paranoia over the security even before the explosion that barring a handful of people, no body has any details about Mr. Bush's programme.

For the last three days, the local media has been furiously speculating on the duration of Mr. Bush's stay and if the itinerary includes a visit to Lahore to fly kites and play or watch cricket.

These details are of particular interest here as there is a tendency here to compare everything with India.

Pakistanis were furious with the former President, Bill Clinton, when he chose to make a five-hour stop over in their country in March 2000 after a five-day trip to India.

Since the Bush Administration has repeatedly been assuring Pakistan, after it enlisted it as a frontline state in the war against terrorism post 9/11, that it is committed for a long term strategic relationship, the managers of Mr. Bush have tried to have some kind of parity in his trip to India and Pakistan albeit in terms of style if not substance.

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