Musharraf calls for united fight against terror

PAKISTAN: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf sought the nation’s full support to wipe out terrorism, as three fresh attacks across the country killed more than 55 people, including several policemen.

Musharraf, speaking at a gathering of students, vowed to defeat the “handful” of terrorists but said he could not accomplish the task alone.

“I cannot do it alone, neither the police, nor the army can do it alone, unless the people of Pakistan support it,” he said.

Musharraf said only some “misguided elements” were bent upon killing fellow Muslims, blowing themselves up or using explosive-packed vehicles against “innocent people”.

The President’s appeal came as a wave of suicide attacks hit the northwest and the south. A suicide attacker detonated a bomb at a mosque in an army cantonment in the northwest, killing at least 15 people, police said.

The blast also wounded about 30 people. It happened during evening prayers at Kohat, about 70km south of Peshawar, a special branch police official said.

A second police official said 18 died in the attack, and most victims were believed to be military personnel. Police sealed off the area immediately, Reuters reported.

Earlier, at least 30 people were killed when a car bomber apparently targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese workers involved in mining activities rammed into a police van escorting them in the southern town of Hub.

The workers escaped unhurt but all seven policemen in the van and 23 bystanders were killed. Twenty-eight people were injured.

Another seven people were killed in a car bomb attack in the northwestern city of Hangu early yesterday. The attack in Hub, which lies on the border of Balochistan and Sindh provinces, was the biggest - and the first in southern Pakistan - during the recent wave of violence.

“We believe this is part of the recent attacks carried out by Islamist militants,” Tareq Masood Khosa, police chief of Balochistan, told Reuters. The White House yesterday refused to rule out striking at suspected terrorist targets inside Pakistan and would not say whether US forces would first seek permission from Islamabad.

Asked whether President George W. Bush had ruled out US military action inside Pakistan, spokesman Tony Snow said: “We never rule out any options, including striking actionable targets.”

Asked whether Bush would seek authorisation from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, he said: “Those are matters that are best not discussed publicly,” AP reported.

Islamabad, Friday, Gulf News