[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
International News Title: Protests Paralyse Pakistan Before Bush Visit March 3, 2006 4:20 PM ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A nationwide strike called by Islamist parties paralysed Pakistan on Friday ahead of the arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush a day after a suicide car bomber killed an American diplomat and two other people. Bush was due to fly from New Delhi to Islamabad on Friday evening for the last leg of his tour of South Asia, where he aimed to discuss progress in the war on terrorism in his talks with President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday. "I will meet with President Musharraf to discuss Pakistan's vital cooperation in the war on terror and our efforts to foster economic and political development so we can reduce the appeal of radical Islam," Bush said in India before departing. Bush also gave reason for Pakistani opposition groups to hope that Washington will push Musharraf, who came to power in a military coup seven years ago, to move faster to strengthen democratic institutions ahead of a general election next year. "I believe that a democratic, prosperous Pakistan will be a steadfast partner for America, a peaceful neighbour for India and a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world." A White House official later said Bush meant to say "Muslim world". Bush has said that he would ask Musharraf, who has survived several assassination attempts by al Qaeda-linked groups, to do more to shut down militant camps on Pakistani soil and stop cross-border infiltration -- something the Afghan and Indian leaders he met earlier on his tour have complained of. In New Delhi, Bush agreed to provide Pakistan's traditional rival India with American technical know-how for civilian nuclear power. No such goodies were in store for Pakistan, though he was expected to seek ways to expand trade. Police in the city of Karachi fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters trying to march on the U.S. consulate where on Thursday a suicide car bomber killed himself and three other people including a U.S. diplomat, a witness said. Dozens of protesters were detained after they threw stones at police vehicles a kilometre (half a mile) from the U.S. mission. "ENSLAVING THE NATION" The largest protest was in Multan in the central Punjab province where the opposition leader in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, addressed a 10,000-strong crowd. The Muslim cleric told the protesters Bush's visit was aimed at "enslaving the Pakistani nation and rewarding General Musharraf for his patriotism to America". White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters in India that Bush's visit to Pakistan, a nation shown by polls to be among the most anti-American in the world, was not risk-free. FBI agents, according to Pakistani officials, had joined the probe into the suicide bomb attack in Karachi, where the diplomat, David Foy, and his driver were killed along with a paramilitary trooper. The attack, and promise of more protests by Islamists on Saturday, prompted authorities to strengthen security plans for Bush in Islamabad, a small, quiet, wooded city. "We revisited the whole plan again, but it was already a foolproof plan so a little bit of beefing up has been done," Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told Reuters. Sniffer dogs and electronic equipment were used to scour the airport and surrounding area, there were checkpoints at entry points to the capital, key roads were blocked and helicopters flew low over the city. Protests, ostensibly over cartoons deemed blasphemous of the Prophet Mohammad that originated in Denmark, were supported by government and opposition parties alike. But it is Pakistan's pro-militant political Muslim clerics who have made most capital over an issue they have used to whip up anti-American and anti-Musharraf sentiment during the past month of often violent demonstrations. An Islamic cleric in a small southern town offered a reward of 10 million rupees ($170,000) for anyone who killed Bush as well as for killing one of the cartoonists responsible for the sketches of the Prophet Mohammad. Reuters
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|