The Long War Journal: A Bombing in Karachi

Written by Bill Roggio on April 11, 2006 1:31 PM to The Long War Journal

Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2006/04/a_bombing_in_karachi.php

Dozens murdered while attending a prayer session in a public park

Terrorists have struck again in the southern city of Karachi, Pakistan. Over forty are believed dead and scores wounded after a bomb was detonated during a prayer service in a public park. The Associated Press reports "Initial reports suggested a bomb was planted near the stage in Nishtar Park... for a prayer gathering organized by a Sunni Muslim group to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad, said area police chief Shah Nawaz. But Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told Pakistan's private Geo television that authorities were also investigating whether the attack may have been carried out by a suicide bomber."

CNN speculates the attack may be the latest incident of sectarian violence between Shiite & Sunni factions in Pakistan, "In February, at least 40 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite procession in the town of Hangu in the country's North West Frontier Province." However if the incident was a suicide bombing, the obvious culprit is Lashkar-e-Taiba, al Qaeda's local branch in Pakistan.

In early March, Karachi was the scene of a suicide car attack on a convoy of a representative of the U.S. Consulate, which killed the diplomat and seriously damaged the surrounding buildings. Karachi is the breeding and meeting grounds of al Qaeda terrorists. Just this week, Interpol has issued a "special notice" concerning Dawood Ibrahim, and "now recognizes Dawood as part of the worldwide terror syndicate of Osama bin Laden whose Al-Qaida is lead member of the 17-member World Jihad Council." Dawood’s operations have spanned Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman." Interpol states Dawood maintains "a posh colony in Karachi."

Pakistan's dysfunctional state of affairs only worsens. Various agencies in the North West Frontier Province have fallen to the Taliban. The Taliban is basically offering the Pakistani Army a truce in North Waziristan. Pakistan has been inclined to accept such offers in the past. The banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) recently held a 5,000 man strong rally calling for the establishment of "a global caliphate, beginning with Pakistan," and according the the Daily Times, a leader of the SSP was quoted as saying "The concept of nation state is an obstacle in the way of the establishment of Khilafat (Caliphate). We will start the establishment of Khilafat in Pakistan and then will do so across the world." And the Pakistani government recently declared the Baluchistan Liberation Army a "terrorist entity," foreshadowing another bloody confrontation in the large natural resource-rich province in the southwest corner of the country.