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October 19 Bhutto homecoming turns to horror
Two car-bomb explosions hit former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto's convoy today, killing at least 45 people as she returned to Pakistan from eight years in self-imposed exile. Police said at least 126 people died and 240 people were injured in the blasts in the port city of Karachi, which appeared to be carried out by at least one suicide attacker. Local hospitals reported 45 dead. At least 20 police were among the dead, officials said. Ms Bhutto, 54, who was travelling in a heavily-armoured truck, was unhurt, officials said. "Benazir Bhutto was immediately taken to her ancestral Bilawal house after the blast,'' interior ministry spokesman Javed Cheema said. "She's absolutely safe.'' The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed there were no Australians injured in the suicide bombings, but investigations were continuing. "At this stage, there are no reports of Australian casualties in this incident, but our High Commission in Islamabad is checking whether any Australians have been affected and can provide consular assistance to those who might require it," A DFAT spokeswoman told The Age. Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Howard, speaking on ABC radio this morning, said he believed the bombings were likely the work of al-Qaeda. "It's too early to be certain, but it looks very much like the work of al-Qaeda," Mr Howard said. Mr Howard said al-Qaeda was opposed to Pakistan's involvement with the US in the war on terror, which is supported by both Ms Bhutto and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharref. "Benazir Bhutto, to her credit, as well as General Musharref, have both said they will continue to support the Americans in the war on terror," he said. "It is a reminder of the evil of al-Qaeda. It is a reminder of how important it is not to concede a victory to them in Iraq or in Afghanistan.'' The biggest of the two blasts happened just metres from the truck carrying Ms Bhutto as it inched through crowds of supporters in Karachi, Pakistan's most violent city. The explosion shattered the truck's windows. Bodies could be seen on the ground near the scene of one of the blasts. Pakistan television was playing images of mutilated bodies on the street. An Associated Press photographer at the scene said he saw between 50 and 60 dead or badly injured people. He said some of the bodies were in parts. An initial small explosion was followed by a huge blast just in front of the truck carrying Ms Bhutto. Militants linked to al Qaeda, angered by Ms Bhutto's support for the United States war on terrorism, had threatened to assassinate her. About 20,000 security personnel had been deployed to provide protection as hundreds of thousands of people took to the street to greet Ms Bhutto's convoy.. Intelligence reports suggested at least three jihadi groups linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban were plotting suicide attacks, according to a provincial official. Ms Bhutto had returned to lead her Pakistan People's Party into national elections meant to return the country to civilian rule. For years Ms Bhutto had vowed to return to Pakistan to end military dictatorship, yet she came back as a potential ally for President Pervez Musharraf, the army chief who took power in a 1999 coup. The United States is believed to have quietly encouraged their alliance to keep nuclear-armed Pakistan pro-Western and committed to fighting al Qaeda and supporting NATO's efforts to stabilise Afghanistan. Dressed in a green kameez, a loose tunic, her head covered by a white scarf, Ms Bhutto had earlier stood in plain view on top of her truck, ignoring police advice to stay behind its bullet proof glass, as it edged through crowds waving the red, black and green tricolour of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP). Billboards along the route bore giant images of BB, as she is known, and her late father, Zulfikar Ali Ms Bhutto, the country's first popularly elected prime minister, who was ousted and executed by his army chief, General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq. "Now that the people have given their verdict, it is necessary that the elections should be free and fair," she said before setting off at the head of a procession into Karachi. October 16 Economy key to survival, Hu tells congressCHINA'S Communist Party must rid itself of corruption and bureaucracy and continue the post-1978 economic reforms that had transformed its economy from one on the verge of collapse into the world's fourth biggest if it was to survive, President Hu Jintao declared yesterday. Mr Hu's report to the 17th Party Congress opening focused heavily on the domestic challenges of ensuring continued economic growth while addressing environmental damage and meeting the growing expectations of a wealthier, more diverse and demanding society. He promised gradual but steady improvements in the rule of law and democratic rights as well as a cleaner environment by 2020, when per capita gross domestic product is to have quadrupled from 2000 levels and China is to have completed its industrialisation to become a "moderately prosperous" society. But the process of consolidating socialism would require "unremitting efforts" and a "dozen or even dozens of generations", he warned, urging party members not to lose sight of the fact China would remain a relatively poor country for a "long time". On foreign policy, Mr Hu reassured the world it was not engaged in an arms race and did not pose a military threat, so there was no need to fear China's economic and political rise. He called instead for global co-operation to take good care of the Earth by fighting global warming. Mr Hu offered an olive branch to Taiwan, where former leaders have threatened reunification by force. He offered a formal end to the state of hostility but a peace deal depended on the island democracy's 23 million people accepting that both sides of the Taiwan Strait, considered one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints, "belong to one and the same China". Mr Hu's speech, marking the midpoint of his 10-year reign as leader of 1.3 billion people, emphasised repeatedly that the future of the Communist Party and that of China was indivisible, but the party's survival depended on how effectively it fought corruption and other "matters that cause strong public resentment". The latter included demands for a healthy environment and basic public services. Mr Hu outlined greater spending on education and health to create a social safety net that would also help reduce disparities between rural and urban areas and between different regions. "While recognising our achievements, we must be well aware that they still fall short of the expectations of the people," he said. The congress, held every five years, will write into the constitution Mr Hu's "scientific outlook on development", which broadly seeks to reinvigorate the party so it keeps popular support through correcting the imbalances, problems and injustices from the past 30 years of breakneck development. Economic growth remained the top priority, he said, promising to cut bureaucracy, government and party, and reduce overlapping groups and conflicting policies that hindered efficient government. Stronger financial, legal, political and party institutions would be built or encouraged to accommodate the growing "enthusiasm" for political participation and to ensure central policy on matters such as environmental protection was actually carried out at a local level. Mr Hu also announced that "in-principle" public hearings must be held before new laws and policies "that bear closely on the interests of the public" are formulated. "Further reform in difficult areas is confronted with deep-seated problems," he said. Modernising the weak agricultural sector was another "arduous task" as he outlined a new type of peasant, or rather the creation of agribusinesses, as the country continued to transfer its excess rural labour to cities. "To stop or reverse reform and opening up would only lead to a blind alley," he said. Whether Mr Hu's vision will be effectively implemented will become clearer on Sunday when the congress ends and the leadership reshuffle of the Politburo's nine-member standing committee is revealed. |
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