.
 |
See the scale of the damage at the Marriott in Islamabad 
|
The owner of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad has denied that Pakistan's top leaders had been due to dine there before Saturday's huge bomb attack.
He was responding to comments by interior ministry chief Rehman Malik.
Mr Malik said the president, prime minister and military chiefs were going to eat there but changed venue at the last minute.
A suicide bomb devastated the hotel killing at least 53 people and injuring more than 266 people.
The Marriott owner, Sadruddin Hashwani, told the BBC there never was a booking for a government dinner at the Marriott hotel on the night of the bomb attack nor any plans for a government function.
Mr Hashwani owns a string of hotels in Pakistan and is one of the country's most successful businessmen.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Malik told journalists that President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani were planning to dine at the Marriott before a late change of plan.
"The president and the prime minister changed the venue to the prime minister's house. The function was not held at the Marriott, thus the whole leadership was saved." He did not say why the dinner plans were changed.
In other developments, it was reported that Pakistani troops fired on US helicopters that violated Pakistani airspace near the border with Afghanistan on Sunday night.
Tensions between the US and Pakistan have risen in recent weeks amid US accusations that Pakistan is not doing enough to combat Taleban militants in the region.
And in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, an Afghan diplomat was kidnapped and his driver killed, reports said.
Taleban suspects
The heavily guarded Islamabad Marriott was attacked at about 2000 (1500 GMT) on Saturday.
CCTV footage of the moments before the blast show a six-wheeler lorry ramming the security barrier at the hotel gate.
The bomb - believed to have been detonated in the lorry - left a six-metre (20ft) crater.
Aerial footage of the damage caused by the bomb
Rescuers have been combing the wreckage for survivors and bodies.
Most of the dead were Pakistanis.
The Czech ambassador to Pakistan, one Vietnamese, a German and an American were among the dead, with an American and a Danish intelligence officer missing, presumed dead.
Residents of Islamabad have told the BBC there is now a climate of fear in the city with people too scared to go out.
The blast has prompted British Airways to cancel two flights to Pakistan "in light of the security situation".
No-one has yet admitted carrying out the attack, but the Pakistani Taleban are thought to be the most likely perpetrators.
The Marriott was the most prestigious hotel in the capital, located near government buildings and diplomatic missions. It is popular with foreigners and the Pakistani elite.
The hotel has previously been the target of militants. Last year, a suicide bomber killed himself and one other in an attack at the hotel.
The BBC's Barbara Plett, in Islamabad, says the latest attack might have been retaliation for army bombardments of suspected Taleban targets with jet fighters.
Earlier on Monday, Pakistan's government said it would take targeted action against the militants, promising raids in some "hotspots" near the border with Afghanistan.
Away from Islamabad, troops reportedly forced US helicopters out of Pakistani airspace in the tribal area of North Waziristan.
Our correspondent says that following a series of US raids on Pakistani territory earlier this month that it reserved the right to retaliate, with a series of warning shots the standard procedure.
In Peshawar, Afghan consul Abdul Khaliq Farahi was in a car in a city suburb when it was attacked by six unidentified men, officials say. His driver died in the attack.
Pakistani president and PM just miss hotel bomb blast: Guardian
Pakistani president and PM just miss hotel bomb blast
Last-minute change of mind saved Zardari and Gillani from Marriott carnage as 53 die in explosions
Guardian, September 22, 2008; Anil Dawar and agencies
The new Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, and his prime minister were due to dine at the Marriott hotel on the night it was devastated by a huge truck bomb, it was revealed today.
An interior ministry spokesman, Rehman Malik, said Zardari and Yousaf Raza Gillani had changed their plans at the last minute and decided to meet at the prime minister's house instead.
Malik declined to elaborate on why the decision was made.
"Perhaps the terrorists knew the Marriott was the venue of the dinner for all the leadership where the president, prime minister and speaker would be present," he told reporters.
"At the eleventh hour, the president and prime minister decided the venue would be the prime minister's house. It saved the entire leadership," Malik added.
For complete story, click
here
Reply:
Enough! Time to stand aside Mr Advisor!
Replied by(
Noman)
Replied on (23/Sep/2008)
Arguably it is too early to ask a reigning interior minister or advisor to stand down. Yet the story does not end on incompetence alone. The man in question was in charge of Benazir Bhutto's
Arguably it is too early to ask a reigning interior minister or advisor to stand down. Yet the story does not end on incompetence alone. The man in question was in charge of Benazir Bhutto's security. She is no more but he still rose to the high post. The video footage captured by the CCTV of the Saturday's Marriot attack and the linked expert commentary reveals sheer incompetence of the interior ministry in meeting challenges that are part of the very portfolio. Our heart bleeds to think that if the administration was a bit more ready countless precious lives could be saved. But that is not all either. With Mr Rehman the assessments and claims keep changing with the speed of light. One would have expected the preliminary report to have been finalized and if possible published. But there is no such thing. When Mr Rehman Malik himself is not sure how can we conclude that there is no deficit of understanding on his part. His method of blurting out first and then reneging on his words is almost obnoxious. This kind of comic strip approach to security cannot be tolerated in these bitter times. But even this lapse of his could have been digested by some, albeit with great pain and remorse. But he is indeed turning out to be a symbol of division rather than unity. At a time when the opposition is throwing aspersions on the government and absolutely ignoring the need for the aggressive diplomacy needed for securing our western border from the US incursions is making quite a bit out of the President's decision to embark on his itinerary to the UN, Mr Malik being most available face of the government has failed to alley such concerns. He is a man not even trusted among the ranks of the People's Party. His popularity is abysmal in the establishment. And to top it all he is not even an elected representative of the people. In these testing times the Interior Ministry is of critical import. It deserves better leadership with sound orientation. When its Co-Chairman happens to be the President of the Federation, the People's Party need to show more responsibility than any other party and rollback its grand interior folly. We are sure that the most popular party of the country can come up with far too many more trusted and able faces in shortest span of time for the post. If someone is so fond of him that his follies are to be overlooked he should be engaged in some more realistic and personal capacity. Please do not disappoint us.