Pakistan's capital was on high alert and foreign embassies were scrutinizing security measures yesterday after a bomb exploded in an Italian restaurant crowded with foreigners, killing a Turkish aid worker and wounding 12 other people.
US and British embassy personnel were among the wounded in what appeared to be the first attack targeting foreigners in a recent wave of violence in Pakistan blamed on Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"Embassies are reviewing their security practices and the guidance they give to their employees," US embassy spokeswoman Kay Mayfield said yesterday.
US policy prohibits families of US diplomats from accompanying them on assignment in Pakistan, but most other countries allow it. A notice posted on the embassy's Web site late on Saturday urged Americans "to avoid areas where Westerners are known to congregate and to maintain a low profile."
"American citizens should stay alert, be aware of their surroundings, reduce travel to a minimum, and act self-defensively," it said.
Mayfield could not comment on whether the US was taking any additional measures such as sending home nonessential employees.
Concrete barriers lined streets yesterday in the upscale neighborhood around the Luna Caprese restaurant, a popular spot for expatriates in Islamabad. A dozen policemen stood guard outside the two-story villa in what was thought to be a secure neighborhood where diplomats and government officials live.
Police were on high alert, stepping up vehicle checks throughout the capital, a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.
Officials said the bomb was thrown over the wall or planted in the restaurant's garden, which had been crowded with diners. The restaurant had a single private security guard at its entrance, but none along its perimeter.
The Foreign Ministry said yesterday the dead Turkish woman worked for a foreign aid group. Police at the scene initially told reporters two people had died, but authorities later revised the toll to one.
A list of victims was posted in the reception of an Islamabad hospital. Five US citizens were listed as undergoing surgery. One Japanese citizen, one Canadian, one Briton and three Pakistanis also were wounded. Foreigners crowded around the list; some burst into tears.
"There were US embassy personnel among the injured. They are receiving medical treatment and their families are being notified," Mayfield said.
She was unable to confirm the number of personnel wounded or their nationalities.
The British Foreign Office reported that a staff member from the British High Commission had been "lightly injured" in the blast.
The man was being treated in a hospital, the office said.
Saturday's attack was the first in Pakistan's quiet capital in several months, and the first targeting foreigners here in more than a year.
In January last year, a security guard was killed and seven people injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Marriott hotel near parliament.
The deadliest attack on expatriates in recent years was in 2002, when five people were killed, including two Americans, when suspected Islamic militants set off grenades at a church in Islamabad's heavily guarded diplomatic enclave.
TURNAROUND: The Liberal Party had trailed the Conservatives by a wide margin, but that was before Trump threatened to make Canada the US’ 51st state Canada’s ruling Liberals, who a few weeks ago looked certain to lose an election this year, are mounting a major comeback amid the threat of US tariffs and are tied with their rival Conservatives, according to three new polls. An Ipsos survey released late on Tuesday showed that the left-leaning Liberals have 38 percent public support and the official opposition center-right Conservatives have 36 percent. The Liberals have overturned a 26-point deficit in six weeks, and run advertisements comparing the Conservative leader to Trump. The Conservative strategy had long been to attack unpopular Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but last month he
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
RSS