செய்தி: பாகிஸ்தான் உள்துறை அமைச்சர் மீது தற்கொலை தாக்குதல் 22 பேர் பலி

பாகிஸ்தான் உள்துறை அமைச்சரான அப்தப் கான் சர்பவோ என்பவர் மீது நட்ந்த தற்கொலை தாக்குதலில் 22 பேர்கள் பலியானார்கள்.

அமைச்சர் படுகாயமடைந்தார். இந்த தாக்குதல் அல்குவேதா நடத்தியிருக்கிறது என்று பாகிஸ்தான் அரசாங்கம் கூறுகிறது.

விஷப்பாம்புகளுக்கு பால் வார்த்துவிட்டு, அது கொத்த வரும்போது யாருடைய அனுதாபமும் கிடைக்காது.

22 die as Pakistan bomb targets official By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Apr 28, 12:22 PM ET



PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide bomber blocked from approaching Pakistan's interior minister detonated his explosives at a political gathering in northwestern town Saturday, killing at least 22 people and wounding 35, officials said.

ADVERTISEMENT

State television showed Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao walking to his car after the blast, with blood on his face and white tunic.

Asif Iqbal Daudzai, spokesman for the government of North West Frontier Province, said the attack in the town of Charsadda killed 22 people and wounded more than 35. The dead included two staff members and two of Sherpao's security guards, who blocked the attacker from approaching.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but suspicion will fall on Islamic militants who have repeatedly targeted top Pakistani officials, including President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, for his support of the United States.

The suicide bomber struck soon after Sherpao had finished addressing a public gathering of his political party in an open field in the northwestern town of Charsadda.

Salim Jan, 22, who suffered minor injuries, said Sherpao was greeting people after the speech when the bomb exploded.

"I saw the head of a man there. I saw bodies there. I also saw security men helping Sherpao to go toward his car," he said.

Mohammed Khan, a police official, said the minister was in stable condition and was shifted to a hospital in Peshawar, about 18 miles away. Sherpao's son, lawmakers and security officials were among the injured, he said.

An intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job, said investigators had found the bomber's head.

The bombing comes a day after an apparent missile strike killed four people in the border region of North Waziristan, considered a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaida militants. The U.S. military and NATO in neighboring Afghanistan denied involvement.

It was not clear if Pakistani security forces played any role. The government claimed — despite witness accounts to the contrary — that the dead and wounded were making bombs and had accidentally caused an explosion.

Saturday's attack in Charsadda is the latest in a series of bombings that have targeted top officials since Pakistan became a Washington ally against al-Qaida in late 2001.

In December 2003, Musharraf narrowly escaped injury in two massive bombings 11 days apart in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Some 17 other people were killed in the second bombing.

In July 2004, a suicide bombing claimed by al-Qaida targeted Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as he campaigned for a by-election west of the capital Islamabad, a few weeks before he took office. Aziz was unhurt, but nine others, including his driver, were killed.

_____

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmad in Islamabad contributed to this report.