Asia-Pacific
Explosion at Karachi house kills at least 8
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-01-08 20:55
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 Pakistani security officials stand amid debris of a collapsed house following an explosion in Karachi January 8, 2010. [Photo/Agencies] |
Malik said authorities plan to crack down on "illegal immigrants" in Karachi, a possible reference to Afghans, many of them Pashtun, who reside in vast settlements on the city's outskirts. He said such illegal immigrants should leave the city in the next 15 days.
Most of the militant violence in Pakistan is centered in its northwest tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, which are home to a number of insurgent groups, some of them rivals.
In the Pakistani capital Friday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani complained to a group of visiting US lawmakers about new US airport security measures that single out travelers who are citizens of, or are flying from, 14 countries including Pakistan.
The more stringent standards -- which include full-body patdowns -- were imposed after an attempted bombing of a plane heading to Detroit by a Nigerian suspected of al-Qaida ties.
Gilani called the standards discriminatory and said Pakistan should be off the list, according to a press release from his office.
The congressional delegation included Sens. John McCain and Joseph Lieberman. During a news briefing prior to a session with Gilani, McCain and Lieberman stressed their support for US missile strikes on Pakistani territory.
The strikes are controversial in Pakistan, where the government argues they are a violation of its sovereignty and kill too many innocent civilians. The US says the attacks are a critical tool in killing top militant leaders.
