DATE=7/16/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=PAK BLAST (L)
NUMBER=2-264457
BYLINE=SCOTT ANGER
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
//Editors - Change casualty figures in the intro as
warranted//
INTRO: A powerful bomb has ripped through a crowded
passenger train in the southern Pakistani city of
Hyderabad, killing at least nine people and injuring
dozens more. As correspondent Scott Anger reports
from Islamabad, Sunday's blast is the most recent in a
number of unexplained explosions, which have occurred
in Pakistan in recent weeks.
TEXT: Pakistan railway officials say the bomb
exploded minutes after the crowded train pulled out of
the station enroute to Karachi, about 160 kilometers
south of Hyderabad. Witnesses describe hearing a
large bang, which sent people scrambling as smoke
quickly filled the train. Army troops and rescue
workers quickly cordoned off the area. Several
passengers died at the scene. Most of the injured
have been taken to area hospitals.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast and
police say no arrests have been made.
The source of the bombing is not clear, but southern
Pakistan - in particular Karachi - has suffered from
ethnic and religiously motivated violence over the
last decade. Much of the violence has come from
activists of the Muttahida Qami Movement - or M-Q-M -
a party that represents immigrants and their
descendants from India who settled in urban areas of
Sindh province after Pakistan's creation in 1947.
Sunday's blast comes a day after Farooq Sattar, a top
M-Q-M leader, was sentenced to 14 years in jail after
being convicted of corruption in a special anti-
corruption court. He has also been barred from
holding public office for 21 years. The conviction is
part of the country's crackdown by the military
government on corrupt officials and politicians.
Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister who was ousted
in a bloodless military coup last October, is himself
facing a number of corruption charges as part of the
government crackdown.
Dozens of people have been killed in a series of
explosions throughout Pakistan in the past year. All
of the explosions have occurred in public places and
authorities say the aim has been to create panic and
chaos in the country. Pakistani officials routinely
blame the blasts on intelligence agents from
neighboring India. Both countries routinely accuse
each other of sabotage. India and Pakistan, who have
fought three wars since 1947, each deny the
allegations. (SIGNED)
NEB/SA/PLM
16-Jul-2000 03:31 AM EDT (16-Jul-2000 0731 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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