Gunmen killed five people in an attack on a vehicle in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Monday, police and a medical charity said. The attack came on the same day that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage visited President Pervez Musharraf for talks focused on the "war on terror".
"Welcome to Islamabad, keep your head down."
"Five people have been killed in firing," said Nasir Amin, a supervisor at the Edhi Welfare Trust in Islamabad. "We were told it was a government vehicle." An official at police headquarters confirmed the death toll and said the five victims had been travelling in a four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Pajero. "It appears it was a government vehicle," said one police official.
Have to wait and see who they were and what government agency.
Violent attacks on the government are unusual in Pakistan, but last year saw a spate of attacks on Western and Christian targets. Sectarian violence carried out by extremist Sunni or Shia Muslims is also common, with hundreds killed in recent years.
Here's more, from AP...
In a brazen daylight attack, gunmen assassinated a hardline Sunni Muslim politician and four other people Monday, spraying their car with automatic weapon-fire before fleeing.
| "Brazen daylight attack," huh? I like that better than skulking midnight assassinations... |
The motive was not immediately known, but the politician, Maulana Azam Tariq, had made many enemies as head of the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba group, blamed for the killings of hundreds of minority Shiite Muslims.
| Wonder if it has anything to do with the Shias who worked for the Pak space program, bumped off on their way to the mosque last week? Y'think? Why, it seems like only yesterday they were threatening Dire Revenge™... |
The majority of Pakistan's Sunnis and Shiites live peacefully, but small militant groups on either side target each other.
| More Sunni than Shiite, though. Much more Sunni... |
The gunmen were driving a sport utility vehicle and opened fire as the car carrying Tariq, a member of the national Parliament, was driving near a toll plaza on the southwestern outskirts of the city, said Islamabad police chief Mohammed Akram. The other victims were a driver and three bodyguards.
| Did their jobs well, didn't they? |
Pakistan's Geo television showed gruesome images of the victims lying slumped in the bullet-riddled car amid shattered glass.
| "Ding dong, the mullah's dead!" |
There were fears the killing could spark a wave of violence in a country that has seen all too much of it in recent years.
| It'd have to be a pretty big wave just to be noticeable... |
Hundreds of Tariq's followers accompanied his body from the hospital to a mosque in Islamabad. Some threw stones at shops; others chanted "America is a dog!" and anti-Shiite slogans. No major damage was reported.
| If America's a dog, the fundos are her chew toy... |
In the southern port city of Karachi, police tightened security, especially around churches and Shiite Muslim mosques.
| That's usually what gets shot up, isn't it? Preferably when they're having services and everybody's unarmed... |
"The police are on high alert," said the city's police chief, Tariq Jamil. A top leader of Tariq's new political party, Millat-e-Islamia, condemned the killing and warned of nationwide violence protests if those responsible are not caught. "This is an irreparable loss," said Maulana Ali Sher Haideri, the party chairman.
| That was the whole idea, Ali... |
In an apparent reference to Tariq's Shiite enemies, Haideri said "it is obvious who did it." He would not elaborate.
| Just like it's obvious who dunnit every time a busload of Shias is bumped off... |
Enemies of Tariq's outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba group also denounced the assassination. Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moasvi, the head of a major Shiite group, Tahrik-e-Nifaz-e-Fiqa-e-Jaaferia, said the killing had been carried out by people "who do not want to see peace in Pakistan."
| "... against people who do not want to see peace in Pakistan. Oh, woe is me! I'm next up when it comes to Dire Revenge™!" |
Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat, himself a Shiite, said he ordered a thorough investigation.
| "Mahmoud! Round up the usual suspects!" |
Tariq, a lunatic fiery politician in his mid-40s, was detained by Pakistan at the start of the U.S.-led military operation in Afghanistan to prevent him from leading pro-Taliban rallies. But he won a seat in Parliament from behind bars in October 2002, and was released shortly afterward when a court in the eastern city of Lahore ruled the government had not produced enough evidence to hold him.
| "Leader of a major fundo organization, parent body to Lashkar e-Jhangvi, possibly the most vicious (though not the brighest) terror organization in the entire world, hundreds of people dead... Nope. You'll have to come up with something more convincing than that, I'm afraid..." |
Although Tariq denied supporting armed struggle, Sipah-e-Sahaba — or the Guardians of the Friends of the Prophet — was blamed by police for more than 400 killings in sectarian violence in recent years.
| "Nope. Nope. Not enough evidence... Mahmoud! Tighten my turban, wouldja?" |
The group also has strong ties to Afghanistan's former Taliban leaders. The group was one of five militant organizations outlawed by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2002 as he sought to purge the country of extremism and terrorism.
| Did a good job, didn't he? |
Tariq formed Millat-e-Islamia, or Islamic Nation, in April. Several banned Pakistani militant groups have gotten around laws meant to disband them by simply changing their names.
| "Huh huh! Can't arrest them, 'cuz they changed their names. Gotta start all over again — nope, not enough evidence against this bunch!" |
Since his release from prison, Tariq had become a supporter of the government of Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, a Musharraf ally.
| Politix makes strange bedfellows, and even stranger pregnancies... |
Tariq's funeral will be held outside the parliament Tuesday.
Wish I could make it. I'd like to make sure he's dead see him off... |
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