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Pakistan funeral bombing probed
01/03/2008 11:08 - (SA)
Peshawar - Security forces launched a probe into a suicide attack at a police officer's funeral that killed 35 people in volatile northwestern Pakistan where troops are fighting pro-Taliban militants, officials said on Saturday.
More than 60 people were also wounded on Friday night when the bomber blew himself up amid some 800 mourners who had gathered for the funeral of Javed Iqbal, a senior police officer who was killed in a roadside bombing earlier in the day.
Among the dead were Iqbal's 16-year-old son, Ghazan.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Akhtar Ali Shah said a probe was launched.
He said although no one claimed responsibility, police were confident of arresting those who orchestrated the suicide attack in Mingora, about 170 kilometres from Peshawar in the Swat Valley.
Bloodiest attack
Friday's suicide bombing was the bloodiest attack in the Swat Valley since militant followers of a pro-Taliban cleric grabbed control of large parts of the scenic corner of Pakistan's restive northwest.
President Pervez Musharraf - an ally of Washington in its war on terror - sent thousands of troops to Swat in November but attacks have persisted including scores of suicide bombings.
The latest suicide attack was the most serious after the February 18 parliamentary elections in which Musharraf's allied party was soundly defeated, plunging his political future into uncertainty.
Shahbuddin, an assistant inspector of police, said the explosion occurred just as pallbearers - including Iqbal's teenage son - lifted the coffin to carry it toward the grave. Many police officers were at the funeral.
"Because it was dark, the suicide bomber was able to mingle among the people easily," said Shahbuddin, who uses only one name.
"As the coffin was lifted I moved toward the gate but suddenly a big explosion took place, which dashed me against the gate. ... It was hell. Everybody was crying for help," Shahbuddin, who was slightly wounded, told The Associated Press.
Dr Fazal Wahab of Saidu Sharif Hospital said 35 bodies had been counted and 62 people were wounded.
Shocking reflection
The pro-Taliban uprising in Swat was a shocking reflection of how Musharraf's government had lost control of swaths of the conservative northwest.
Musharraf has faced calls to resign since his Muslim League-Q party was soundly defeated in the parliamentary elections. He has refused to step down.
The party of Benazir Bhutto - the opposition leader assassinated on December 27 - was the biggest winner in the election, followed by the group led former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Leaders of the two parties hope to form a coalition that would give them the two-thirds majority necessary to impeach Musharraf or curtail his powers through constitutional amendments.
Musharraf came to power in a 1999 coup that ousted Sharif.
Although Pakistanis initially welcomed Musharraf, he has become increasingly unpopular amid accusations he has trampled on democracy and the judiciary.
- AP
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