2002 Karachi bus bombing
| 2002 Karachi bus bombing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Date | May 8, 2002 |
| Target | French people |
Attack type | Suicide car bomb |
| Deaths | 14 |
| Injured | 40 |
The 2002 Karachi bus bombing was one of a series of deadly strikes against Westerners in Pakistan in 2002. The blast killed 14 people and wounded another 40. The attack took place in Karachi, Sindh.[1]
Details
[edit]On May 8, 2002, a man driving a car bomb pulled up next to a bus outside Sheraton Hotel in Karachi. He detonated the car, ripping the bus apart, and killing himself, 11 Frenchmen, and two Pakistanis. The Frenchmen were engineers working with Pakistan to design an Agosta 90B-class submarine for Pakistani Navy. About 40 others were wounded.[2]
The bombing occurred close to the Pearl-Continental Hotel where the New Zealand national cricket team were staying during their tour of 2002. The team's physiotherapist Dayle Shackel received a minor cut to his forearm from flying glass.[3] The team abandoned the tour immediately and returned to New Zealand on the first available flight.
Al-Qaeda was blamed for the blast. On September 18, 2002, a man named Sharib Zubair, who was believed to have masterminded the attack, was arrested.[citation needed] In 2003, two men[who?] were sentenced to death for the bombing by a Karachi court.[citation needed] The suspected bombmaker, Mufti Mohammad Sabir, was arrested in Karachi on September 8, 2005.[4] There were several convictions in the case, though Pakistani courts acquitted three defendants by 2009.[5]
Karachigate
[edit]Contrary to official announcements by the Pakistani and the French governments at the time, it is now thought to be unlikely that those responsible for the attack had links to al-Qaeda. In 2007, anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguière, assigned to lead the investigation into the bombing, was replaced by two investigating magistrates, Marc Trevidic and Renaud Van Ruymbeke. The former opened a new line in the investigation: that the attack was linked to the halting of kickback.[6] The resulting scandal has been dubbed "Karachigate".[7][8]
An investigation is currently underway in France to establish the extent to which former French Prime Minister Édouard Balladur and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy were implicated in the sale of kickbacks to Pakistani officials.[8] Sarkozy was allegedly involved in accepting kickbacks from Pakistan to fund the presidential campaign of Balladur. When Jacques Chirac came to power, he cancelled the Pakistani officials' kickbacks, angering many people in Pakistan.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "USATODAY.com - Suspect arrested in attack that killed 11 Frenchmen". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ Suicide bomber kills 11 French engineers at Karachi hotel (The Guardian)
- ^ Black Caps' tour abandoned after bomb blast (ESPNcricinfo)
- ^ Bomb suspect arrested (BBC)
- ^ KARACHI: Man acquitted in Frenchmen killing case [permanent dead link]
- ^ Timeline: The Karachi bombing and kickback allegations France 24.
- ^ a b Villepin backs 'Karachigate' claims against Sarkozy The Independent.
- ^ a b "Submarines and subtext: Who's who in 'Karachigate'". France 24. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
External links
[edit]- 2002 murders in Pakistan
- 2002 in international relations
- 2000s crimes in Karachi
- 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan
- Bus bombings in Pakistan
- France–Pakistan relations
- French terrorism victims
- Mass murder in 2002
- Mass murder in Karachi
- May 2002 crimes
- May 2002 events in Pakistan
- Suicide bombings in 2002
- Suicide bombings in Karachi
- Suicide car and truck bombings in Pakistan
- Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2002
- Car and truck bombings in 2002
- Hotel bombings in Pakistan
- 2002 building bombings
- French people murdered abroad
- Attacks on buildings and structures in Karachi