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| Blast at Market in Pakistani Capital Kills at Least 22 | Blast at Market in Pakistani Capital Kills at Least 22 |
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| ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A powerful explosion ripped through a crowded fruit market in Islamabad on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people and injuring about 100 in the deadliest attack in the Pakistani capital in more than five years. | ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A powerful explosion ripped through a crowded fruit market in Islamabad on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people and injuring about 100 in the deadliest attack in the Pakistani capital in more than five years. |
| The attack coincided with government efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the Pakistani Taliban, which is officially observing a cease-fire until Thursday. A spokesman for the Taliban immediately denied responsibility the bombing. | The attack coincided with government efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the Pakistani Taliban, which is officially observing a cease-fire until Thursday. A spokesman for the Taliban immediately denied responsibility the bombing. |
| “Attacks on public places and targeting innocent people is regrettable and un-Islamic,” the spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said in a statement released to the Pakistani news media. | “Attacks on public places and targeting innocent people is regrettable and un-Islamic,” the spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said in a statement released to the Pakistani news media. |
| Instead, a man identifying himself as a spokesman for a little-known separatist group, the United Baluch Army, claimed responsibility for the bombing. | |
| The group was virtually unheard-of until Tuesday, when it also claimed responsibility for an attack on a train as it passed through central Baluchistan Province that killed 14 people and wounded 40 more. The supposed spokesman for the group, who gave his name as Mureed Baluch, made the claim for both bombings by telephone to several Pakistani journalists. | The group was virtually unheard-of until Tuesday, when it also claimed responsibility for an attack on a train as it passed through central Baluchistan Province that killed 14 people and wounded 40 more. The supposed spokesman for the group, who gave his name as Mureed Baluch, made the claim for both bombings by telephone to several Pakistani journalists. |
| Some analysts said they were treating the claim with caution. Baluch separatists have been fighting for independence from Pakistan for about eight years now, accusing the central government of ignoring their sprawling, poverty-stricken province. But the United Baluch Army is not among the main militant groups, and until now Baluch militant groups have mostly limited their attacks to Baluchistan Province. | |
| Wednesday’s attack occurred just after 8 a.m. in a bustling wholesale fruit and vegetable market on the outskirts of Islamabad, sending a loud boom across the city that spread panic during the morning rush hour. | Wednesday’s attack occurred just after 8 a.m. in a bustling wholesale fruit and vegetable market on the outskirts of Islamabad, sending a loud boom across the city that spread panic during the morning rush hour. |
| The blast occurred in an open area where fruit that had been transported from farms in Punjab Province was being auctioned to shopkeepers. Initial police investigations suggested the explosives had been placed in a crate of guava and detonated by remote control, officials said. | The blast occurred in an open area where fruit that had been transported from farms in Punjab Province was being auctioned to shopkeepers. Initial police investigations suggested the explosives had been placed in a crate of guava and detonated by remote control, officials said. |
| Television footage showed charred debris, shattered carts and bloodstained fruit. Witnesses described horrific scenes of carnage, with bodies flying high in the air from the force of the blast. A spokesman for the Pakistani Institute of Medical Sciences, a major hospital, said 22 people had been killed and 96 people wounded in the attack. | |
| It was the deadliest attack in Islamabad since the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in September 2008, when 54 people were killed and several hundred injured. And after several relatively peaceful years in the Pakistani capital, it was a stark reminder of a time when Islamabad seemed directly under siege by the Taliban’s violent campaign to overthrow the government and impose Islamist rule. | It was the deadliest attack in Islamabad since the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in September 2008, when 54 people were killed and several hundred injured. And after several relatively peaceful years in the Pakistani capital, it was a stark reminder of a time when Islamabad seemed directly under siege by the Taliban’s violent campaign to overthrow the government and impose Islamist rule. |
| Despite the cease-fire between the government and Pakistani Taliban, there have been several major attacks in the past month, most of them claimed by a previously unknown militant groups. | Despite the cease-fire between the government and Pakistani Taliban, there have been several major attacks in the past month, most of them claimed by a previously unknown militant groups. |
| The attacks, often attributed to Taliban splinter groups, have raised suspicions that the militants are either negotiating through violence or have become internally divided. | The attacks, often attributed to Taliban splinter groups, have raised suspicions that the militants are either negotiating through violence or have become internally divided. |
| Reports from the tribal belt indicate sharp disagreements between leading militants of the Mehsud tribe, who used to lead the Pakistani Taliban and are said to favor talks, and the militant group’s recently chosen leader, Maulana Fazlullah, who reportedly opposes them. | Reports from the tribal belt indicate sharp disagreements between leading militants of the Mehsud tribe, who used to lead the Pakistani Taliban and are said to favor talks, and the militant group’s recently chosen leader, Maulana Fazlullah, who reportedly opposes them. |
| In continuing the push to engage the Taliban in talks, which started in earnest on March 26, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is betting his government can end years of bloodshed that has killed thousands of Pakistanis and destabilized the country. | In continuing the push to engage the Taliban in talks, which started in earnest on March 26, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is betting his government can end years of bloodshed that has killed thousands of Pakistanis and destabilized the country. |
| But the negotiations have been rocked by continuing attacks on civilians and have drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders, like Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party, who accuse Mr. Sharif of ceding too much ground to the militants. Last week, the Interior Ministry announced the release of 19 Taliban prisoners from the Mehsud tribe, which has typically provided leadership and foot soldiers to the Taliban insurgency. Government officials say more prisoners will be freed this week. | But the negotiations have been rocked by continuing attacks on civilians and have drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders, like Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party, who accuse Mr. Sharif of ceding too much ground to the militants. Last week, the Interior Ministry announced the release of 19 Taliban prisoners from the Mehsud tribe, which has typically provided leadership and foot soldiers to the Taliban insurgency. Government officials say more prisoners will be freed this week. |
| But the Mehsuds appear to be internally divided, which may further complicate the peace process. Brewing tensions between rival Mehsud commanders in South Waziristan have turned bloody in the past month, and four people died in gunfights in the area on Wednesday. | But the Mehsuds appear to be internally divided, which may further complicate the peace process. Brewing tensions between rival Mehsud commanders in South Waziristan have turned bloody in the past month, and four people died in gunfights in the area on Wednesday. |
| “The militants are not a monolith. There are different factions and not all of them agree on peace talks,” said Rasul Baksh Rais, the director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies. “A lot of foreign intelligence agencies have also entered into the subversive element of militancy.” | “The militants are not a monolith. There are different factions and not all of them agree on peace talks,” said Rasul Baksh Rais, the director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies. “A lot of foreign intelligence agencies have also entered into the subversive element of militancy.” |
| Mr. Rais, however, speculated that Wednesday’s bombing would not seriously harm progress in the peace talks. “The military and the government want to advance the negotiation option,” he said. | Mr. Rais, however, speculated that Wednesday’s bombing would not seriously harm progress in the peace talks. “The military and the government want to advance the negotiation option,” he said. |
| The military leadership, which has a history of failed peace deals with the Taliban, is also uneasy about negotiations. But officials say that plans to mount a ground offensive against the Taliban stronghold of North Waziristan, which appeared imminent in February, have been shelved for now. | The military leadership, which has a history of failed peace deals with the Taliban, is also uneasy about negotiations. But officials say that plans to mount a ground offensive against the Taliban stronghold of North Waziristan, which appeared imminent in February, have been shelved for now. |