Suicide bombers strike near heart of Pakistan military; 25 dead

Rawalpindi, Sep 4 (UNI) In two separate attacks, suicide bombers killed at least 25 people and injured 70 in this garrison town of Pakistan amid a recent spate of rising militant violence ahead of the proposed general elections in the country.

As many as 24 of those killed were officials of Pakistani Atomic Energy Commission, confirmed military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad.

About 15 to 17 people were killed in a bus explosion in Qasim Market at 0720 hrs local time (0750 hrs IST), while around ten people died at R A Bazaar when a bomb planted in a motorbike went off.

The casualty figure could go up drastically, according to senior police officials.

Interior Ministry spokesman Brig (Retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema, confirming that they were suicide attacks, said the blasts could be linked to the violence in South Waziristan where the terrorists have reportedly taken some 150 security personnel hostage demanding withdrawal of forces from the region.

Federal Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid told Geo TV that such incidents would hamper the election process between mid-September and October.

Pakistan has been the target of terrorists, who carried out about 50 blasts across the country, ever since government forces stormed the radical Lal Masjid in the heart of Islamabad to flush out militants.

The surge in violence is also being ascribed to the prevailing political upheaval in the Islamic nation.

President Pervez Musharraf is said to be holding secret talks with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to strike a deal under which he could continue as President and she could return home to contest the election.

Another former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has announced that he would return to Pakistan on September 10.

UNI