'A Cancer Inside Pakistan'

The Czech ambassador to Pakistan was among those killed in the deadly suicideattack on the posh Marriott Hotel in Isalamabad, the government said onSeptember 21, even as rescue workers pulled more bodies out of the wreckage ofthe building.

Czech envoy Ivo Zdarek was among the dead, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilanitold reporters after visiting the injured at the Pakistan Institute of MedicalSciences.

"The Czech ambassador has been identified. He is dead," Gilanisaid.

Zdarek, 47, had moved from Vietnam to Pakistan a month ago and was staying atthe hotel. Police initially reported that Zdarek was missing after last night'sblast that killed at least 60 people and injured nearly 260.

Reports said Zdarek had called his embassy soon after yesterday's bombing andasked to be rescued from inside the hotel. However, he could not be locatedduring a search. His body was found in the wreckage of the hotel this morning.

Rescue workers who conducted a room-by-room search of the burnt-out hotelthis morning told reporters they had pulled out eight to 10 charred bodies.

While TV channels and media reports put the death toll at about 60, Gilaniconfirmed 53 deaths. A statement issued by the interior ministry said twoforeign nationals had died and another 21 were injured. The nationalities of theforeigners who had died or were injured were being ascertained, it said.

Geo News channel reported that a Yugoslav, an American, a Saudi national andan Egyptian were among the foreigners who died. The dead foreign nationalsincluded three women, the channel said.

Hotel owner Sadruddin Hashwani said 39 members of its staff, includingsecurity guards who stopped the bomber at the gate, were killed in the attack.

He said police should have stopped the truck used by the bomber from enteringthe high-security "red zone" in the heart of Islamabad where the hotelis located.

Rehman Malik, who heads the interior ministry, said 1,000 kg of explosiveswere packed in the truck and hidden under sand and stones. Prime Minister Gilanisaid the bomber succeeded in bringing the truck into the high-security area inthe guise of carrying construction materials.

"The terrorists want to end the democratic process and destabilise thecountry. They want to cause economic losses to the country and demoralise thesecurity agencies...The people should be vigilant to foil the designs of theterrorists," Gilani said.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, officials pointedthe finger of suspicion at the al-Qaeda and Taliban. They said the bombing wassimilar to the suicide attack on the office of the Federal Investigation Agencyin Lahore in March.

The Marriott Hotel was a favourite gathering spot for foreigners and thePakistani elite. At the time of the attack, its restaurants were packed withpeople who had come for the traditional iftar meal to break their fast at theend of another day of fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.

A statement issued by the Interior Ministry said two foreign nationals haddied and another 21 were injured. The nationalities of the injured foreignerswere being ascertained, it said.

A Danish diplomat, several Americans and Britons, three or four Germans andtwo Saudi nationals were among the injured, Geo TV reported.

Forensic and explosive experts from the army and security agencies scouredthrough a crater - about 25 feet deep and 30 feet wide - created by the blastoutside the hotel in their search for clues.

A joint investigation team headed by the Director General of the FederalInvestigation Agency is probing the attack and is expected to submit its initialreport within 24 hours.

The government announced a reward of Rs one crore for information about theperpetrators of the attack, believed to be the most devastating suicide bombingwitnessed here.

Some reports said a small car rammed into the gate of the hotel minutesbefore the suicide bomber struck in the truck. However, there was no officialconfirmation of this account.

The suicide bomber had probably intended to attack Pakistan's Parliamentduring President Asif Ali Zardari's maiden address there but switched to the'optional' target after failing to enter the high-security area, officials said.

Rehman Malik, the Prime Minister's Adviser on Interior Affairs, said thatauthorities had received intelligence reports on Thursday that "some bigsuicide attempt" would be made on Parliament during Zardari's addressyesterday.

Malik said he and the Interior Ministry experts believed the truck used inthe attack tried to enter Islamabad's "red zone" - a high securityarea in which Parliament, Supreme Court, presidency and Prime Minister's Houseare located - at the time of Zardari's speech.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but security officialshave pointed the finger at the Pakistani Taliban, which has been behind severalrecent suicide bombings that have killed hundreds in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Zardari today vowed to eliminate the "cancer" ofterrorism from the country and appealed to Pakistanis to back the government'sefforts to combat militants.

"Terrorism is an epidemic, a cancer inside Pakistan that we will wipeout," Zardari said in a brief address to the nation before he departed forthe US to participate in the UN General Assembly session.

The attack last night came hours after Zardari said in his maiden address toa joint sitting of both houses of parliament that the government was determinedto root out terrorism and vowed that terrorists would not be allowed to use thePakistani soil to launch attacks against any country.

He appealed to "all democratic forces to come forward and savePakistan" and said he know well the pain and anguish that acts of terrorismbring as he had experienced the assassination of his wife, former premierBenazir Bhutto, in a suicide attack last year.