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Ten dead in 'suicide blast'
17/07/2007 19:45 - (SA)
Islamabad - A suspected suicide blast ripped through the venue in Islamabad for a rally by Pakistan's suspended chief justice, killing at least ten people and wounding 35, officials said.
The explosion splattered blood around a marquee which was decorated with balloons and banners for the speech by top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was not yet present.
"There are at least ten dead and 35 injured in the blast," said Interior Ministry spokesperson Brigadier Javed Cheema.
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said: "It appears to be a suicide attack but we cannot say for sure."
The worst of the damage was around the entrance to the marquee, which had been hired by the Islamabad District Bar Association for the speech by Chaudhry.
Dozens of shoes lay at the scene amid piles of shattered glass and the mangled remains of chairs and a motorcycle, an AFP reporter said.
The blast follows a string of suicide attacks in northwest Pakistan which have killed more than 70 people, apparently in retaliation for the government's deadly storming of the militant-infested Red Mosque in Islamabad.
It also came days before the Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to allow or overturn the March 9 suspension of Chaudhry by President Pervez Musharraf.
Chaudhry's defenders say he was ousted because he may have stood in the way of Musharraf's bid to get re-elected by the outgoing parliament this year as president while also staying on as army chief, in defiance of the constitution.
Chaudhry has denied the charges and challenged his suspension.
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