News

A devastating bomb ripped through a busy market in Peshawar yesterday, marking a possible switch to civilian targets by extremists unleashing a wave of violence aimed at forcing the government to abandon its military offensive against the Taliban.

The blast, which turned a narrow, bustling bazaar in the heart of Peshawar's old city into an apocalyptic scene of rubble, fire and blood, killed more than 100 and injured scores of people in the deadliest attack in Pakistan in two years.

The attack came just hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Pakistan on a visit to smooth strained relations with the violence-shattered country.

Attacks on civilians are still relatively unusual for Pakistani extremists, but that could be changing. The Peshawar blast - which killed many women and children - was after a suicide bombing at a university in Islamabad last week.

Militants tend not to claim responsibility for civilian bloodshed; up until now police, army and government figures have been the main targets of violence.

"Something has fundamentally changed, either the militants are becoming frustrated or new elements are involved," said Zaffar Abbas, an editor at Dawn, a Pakistani daily newspaper. "They're trying to create fear in the public, to build a pressure on the government to stop the operation [in Waziristan]. It's a battle of nerves."

Pakistan is reeling under a barrage of attacks since the army launched its offensive earlier this month in South Waziristan, the region on the Afghan border that is the base for Pakistan's Taliban, Afghan insurgents and al-Qaeda.

Cities across Pakistan have been hit by bombs and gun attacks since the beginning of October, killing nearly 300 people.

In Peshawar, police said the powerful blast was caused by more than 150 kilograms of high explosives packed into a car. Rows of shops were flattened and fire engulfed the area.

"It was a deafening sound and there were plumes of smoke and dust all around the narrow and already dark streets. I could not see anything for some time and there was smell of explosives everywhere," said Noor Khan, who had been busy shopping in an adjacent market in Peshawar.

Some store owners said they had previously received threats from Islamic extremists who objected to women out shopping - in a bazaar that catered primarily to them.

"The terrorists are trying to demoralize the people and the government," said senior provincial minister Bashir Bilour, visiting the scene. "Even if we have to die, we'll keep fighting these terrorists till our last breath."

The American image in Pakistan took a severe battering in recent weeks over an aid bill that put conditions on Islamabad that some claimed implied the country was a state sponsor of terrorism, feeding a wave of anti-Americanism sweeping the country.

Ms. Clinton told Pakistani television anchors she came to "clear the air" but, showing some frustration over the highly charged tone of local criticism of the $1.5-billion aid bill she added: "You don't have to take the money."

"The United States seeks to turn the page, to a new partnership, with not only the government, but the people of Pakistan," Ms. Clinton said. "We commit to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistani people in your fight for peace and security."

But Pakistanis remained skeptical.

"The Pakistani people have the impression that we are being held hostage for a very meagre amount," said Enver Baig, a former head of the foreign relations committee of the Senate, the upper house of Pakistan's parliament. "The U.S. has to be very clear whether they are friends with open arms or not."