A Question of Trust in Pakistan, the Land of the Conspiracy Theory
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, met President George W Bush yesterday on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York.

Mr Zardari is seeking to mend fences with his ally in the "war on terror" after his predecessor, Pervez Musharraf, was less than candid about the Muslim state's covert support for the Afghan Taliban.

But Mr Zardari faces an even greater challenge at home, where many Pakistanis see the rising tide of Islamist violence as part of a foreign conspiracy or, even, something to be supported if it harms America.

Western observers thought that Saturday's bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed 53 people and wounded more than 260, would shock ambivalent Pakistanis into supporting their government's crackdown on home-grown terrorists. But it has merely highlighted just how confused and conspiracy-riddled is Pakistan's popular opinion.

Many I met on the streets of the capital believe the blast was caused by a "foreign hand", a reference that usually denotes anyone from India, Afghanistan, Israel and Russia to the United States. A Question of Trust in Pakistan, the Land of the Conspiracy Theory >>> By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad | September 24, 2008

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Islamabad Suicide Bombing: Westerners Fear for Their Future in Pakistan
THE TELEGRAPH: Westerners and foreign companies were considering their future in Pakistan yesterday after the country suffered its most devastating terrorist strike since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Expatriates said they saw the attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad as a watershed moment with its deliberate targeting of a local landmark where diplomats, politicians and the middle classes gather for business meetings, or to exercise at its gymnasium and dine out.

It came after a string of suicide bombings across the country had already forced the cancellation of an international cricket tournament.

Many who had dismissed these smaller attacks are now considering leaving. "I'll be speaking to my boss tomorrow," said a Briton who has worked in Islamabad for a Pakistani firm for several years and did not want to be named.

There are currently 150 British staff working for the High Commission in the Pakistan capital, making it one of the largest in the world.

The mission – two of whose staff were injured in the attack – is still expected to function as normal. However, employees are being relocated within a safe diplomatic enclave as part of long-term plan initiated since Pakistan's security began to deteriorate significantly last year. Islamabad Suicide Bombing: Westerners Fear for Their Future in Pakistan >>> By Isambard Wilkinson | September 22, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
Pakistan Leaders Escaped Marriott Bomb at Last Minute: Pakistan's president and prime minister were scheduled to eat at the Islamabad Marriott the night it was bombed, but changed plans at the last minute, a top official has said. >>> By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad | September 22, 2008

NZZ Online:
Attentat auf Marriott-Hotel galt dem Präsidenten: Pakistan Staatsspitze beinahe getroffen >>> | 22. September 2008

LE FIGARO:
Al-Qaida défie l'Occident
en frappant au Pakistan >>> Marie-France Calle à New Delhi | 22.09.2008

DIE PRESSE:
Anschlag in Pakistan – ein Land am Abgrund: Mit ihrem Anschlag auf das Marriott-Hotel in Islamabad wollten Fanatiker Pakistan ins Herz treffen. Sie sehen die Zeit gekommen, den Atomstaat zu kippen. Doch die Stimmung könnte sich nun gegen sie wenden.

DELHI/ISLAMABAD. Es sind Bilder wie aus einem Kriegsgebiet: Am Tag nach dem verheerenden Selbstmordattentat auf das Marriott-Hotel in Islamabad stießen Rettungskräfte in den verkohlten Trümmern immer noch auf Leichen. Ein zehn Meter tiefer Bombenkrater klaffte vor den rauchenden Ruinen des US-Luxus-Hotels.

Die Terroristen wollten den pakistanischen Staat mitten ins Herz treffen. Das Inferno spielte sich nahe dem Machtzentrum des Landes ab, wo sich der Sitz des Präsidenten, das Parlament und das Oberste Gericht befinden. Nun erwägen mehrere Botschaften, die Familien ihrer Mitarbeiter aus Pakistan abzuziehen. Das Land würde damit als genauso gefährlich eingestuft wie Afghanistan und der Irak. >>> Von Sascha Zastiral | 21. September 2008

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Pakistani President: The “Cancer” of Terrorism
Watch BBC video: Eyewitness Dirome Antony describes the moment the bomb struck >>>
BBC: Pakistan's president has pledged to fight the "cancer" of terrorism after a suicide bomb killed at least 40 people in the capital, Islamabad.

In a televised speech, Asif Ali Zardari appealed to "all democratic forces" to help to save Pakistan.

The bomb, at the Marriott Hotel, left a 20ft (6m) crater. The hotel owner said a lorry blew up as it was being checked by security at the entrance.

US President George W Bush condemned the attack and pledged assistance.

He said it was a "reminder of the ongoing threat faced by Pakistan, the United States, and all those who stand against violent extremism".

He said the US would "assist Pakistan in confronting this threat and bringing the perpetrators to justice".

'Tonne of explosives'

The blast destroyed the entire front section of the hotel and brought down the ceiling of the banqueting hall.

Witnesses described a scene of horror as blood-covered bodies were pulled from the wreckage and guests and staff ran for cover from shattered glass. Terror Pledge after Pakistan Bomb >>> | September 20, 2008

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