Pakistan People’s Party Vice Chairman, Makhdoom Amin Faheem, said that the heads of Pakistanis, with the centuries-old tradition of hospitality, hang in shame as foreign guests working on a very important defence project have been killed on this soil. This is the second case after the shameful murder of Daniel Pearl, he added.
He said that it was shocking to note that even after Daniel Pearl’s murder, the Ministry of Defence, which played host to the French technicians, had not made proper arrangements for their security.
Mr Faheem said that lately there has been a steep rise in terrorist killings in the country, specially in Karachi. What one does not hear about is progress in investigations or the arrest of terrorists.
“It was sad to note that the intelligence agencies which should be primarily concerned with security were concentrating on political wheeling and dealing. The financial and manpower resources of the regime were used to hold a fake referendum, rather than maintain law and order in the country, as well as protecting the lives of Pakistanis and foreign guests. In the process, the regime had moved closer to the forces challenging the existence of the country and maintaining regular militant wings,” the PPP leader pointed out.
Mr Faheem said that it was only through building a national consensus on major issues and seeking wider cooperation that such problems could be tackled.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief, Altaf Hussain, said that this tragic incident of terrorism is an open challenge to the government and called for taking serious notice of it.
Mr Hussain, in a faxed message from London, said that while police, rangers and personnel of government agencies were posted everywhere in Karachi, the occurrence of such an incident raises many questions.
Demanding a high-level investigation, he asked President Pervez Musharraf to take concrete steps to safeguard the lives and possession of all the citizens, including foreigners.
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Central Vice President, Mian Ejaz Shafi, said that the blast was a message not of frustration against foreigners, but against the policy of the government to hand over anyone to the US.
He said that the police was being demoralized intentionally by not allowing them to function properly and with the objective to hand over police investigation to the American FBI and CIA.
Terming it a bad omen for the country, the PML leader said that such incidents indicated a bleak future and the uncertainty would cause lawlessness and block investment, resulting in unemployment.
Sindh High Court Bar Association President, Abul-Inam, condemned the terrorist attack and said that it was also a manifestation of the failure of the security agencies to maintain law and order. The deaths of foreigners had not only cast a shadow on Pakistan’s image abroad, but also raised questions about the ability and resolve of the regime to deal with the menace of terrorism.
The SHCBA also called upon the regime to take serious action against senior officials for the lapse of security despite apprehensions expressed by various quarters.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf Secretary General, Mairaj Muhammad Khan, expressing condolences to the government of France and to the relatives of the Pakistani personnel as well, said that the bomb blast was another instance of targeted killings. He said that those behind such acts wanted to spoil Pakistan’s relations with the European Union and specially France, which had taken a sympathetic attitude towards Pakistan since Sept 11.
“Such elements want to isolate Pakistan from the international community, by trying to prove that it is an unsafe place for investment, on the verge of anarchy and becoming a failed state,” he said.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan chief, Allama Shah Ahmad Noorani, who presided over a party meeting, expressed concern over the worsening law and order situation in the country. “The target killing of doctors and engineers, particularly the blast near Sheraton Hotel in Karachi in which many citizens including foreigners lost their lives, is a conspiracy aimed at creating fear and a sense of insecurity,” he said.
Jamaat Ahl-i-Sunnat Karachi chief, Allama Syed Shah Turabul Haque Qadri and other party leaders termed Wednesday’s suicide bombing as a foreign conspiracy. They said that increasing incidents of terrorism in the last few days in the city were a challenge to the government. He called for revolutionary measures to apprehend the culprits and to improve the deteriorating law and order situation.