Al Qaeda blamed for blasts at Bhutto march

ISLAMABAD: A veteran Pakistani journalist Friday blamed Al Qaeda for Thursday's deadly twin blasts in Karachi during former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's welcome procession that killed over 165 people.

Writing in The Daily Times, Najam Sethi said: "The two bombs which targeted her are a foretaste of things to come. They are the handiwork of Al Qaeda, no less than the attempts on the life of General (Pervez) Musharraf in the past."

"For those Pakistanis who are still obsessed with moral issues, they should serve to focus on the principal and most violent contradiction facing Pakistan in its quest for moderation and democracy."

"Fighting terrorism and rooting out militancy is in Pakistan's own interest and vital for its very survival but unfortunately apart from the president most people don't seem too enthusiastic about it," he said.

"Bhutto's presence in the county could help fill this gap, and this could provide the anti-terror campaign some much-needed legitimacy because right now most Pakistanis - rightly or wrongly - see their country's participation in the war against terror as something dictated by Washington."