PAKISTAN VOWED to press ahead with an assault on the Taliban’s mountain stronghold after a huge explosion killed 49 people and wounded more than 100 in a crowded Peshawar marketplace yesterday.
The blast ripped through the historic Khyber Bazaar, capping a week of Taliban violence that included attacks on Nato supply convoys and a suicide bombing at a UN office in Islamabad.
Television footage showed the charred skeleton of a bus next to the wreckage of a vehicle that police said had been packed with explosives and artillery shells.
Nearby vehicles and buildings were in flames as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene, amid pools of blood and billowing clouds of tar-coloured smoke.
Analysts saw the attack as a warning from the Taliban against a much-heralded offensive on their main base in South Waziristan, at the southern end of the tribal belt.
Outside parliament, the interior minister, Rehman Malik, said the bombing left the government with “no choice” but to press ahead with its military offensive.
“One thing is clear, these hired assassins called Taliban are to be dealt with more severely,” he told reporters. “All roads are leading to South Waziristan.”
Mr Malik added that the police had arrested the “main handler” behind Monday’s attack on the UN food agency office in Islamabad. “We have complete information about the persons involved in executing the terrorist plan,” he said.
For weeks, troops and heavy weapons have been massing on the edge of Waziristan, while warplanes have attacked selected Taliban targets.
However, a similar build-up at the gates of Waziristan after this summer’s Swat offensive did not result in an assault. Army officials said it could be at least another week before this one starts.
When it does, it is expected to focus on the tribal base of the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who replaced Baitullah Mehsud after the latter was killed in a US drone strike last August.
Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier province, has borne the brunt of Taliban violence in recent years. Yesterday’s was the bloodiest atrocity since a suicide bomber killed more than 50 people in a mosque during Friday prayers in Jamrud, on the city’s outskirts.
– (Guardian service)