Boy, 12, killed in Pakistan bomb blast

A 12-year-old boy was killed today and six members of his family injured in one of two bomb blasts in the Pakistan port city of Karachi, police said.

No one claimed responsibility for the explosions, which police described as aimed at creating terror in the city where the ethnic based Muttahida Qami Movement, or the United National Movement, had called a one-day strike today to protest the killings of its two prominent members last week.

Today’s blasts were apparently unrelated to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s landslide victory in a disputed referendum which assured him of five more years as president.

But the explosions underlined the challenges facing General Musharraf as he tries to curb violence and extremism.

Yesterday, at least 18 people were wounded, some of them critically, as two bombs went off within 10 minutes of each other in a different section of the city, police said.

The first bomb today exploded at around 3am local time (10pm Irish time yesterday) in the poor Lines Area of the city.

The boy who was killed and his family were Afghans, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ali Raza said.

The bomb was placed outside their home while they were asleep.

There were no immediate details about the type of the bomb.

The second bomb exploded about two hours later in a market of the affluent Defence Housing Authority authority, damaging two cars and several shops.

Inspector Mohammed Irfan said the device, containing about 300gms of explosives, caused no casualties because the market was shut.

Windows on nearby buildings were shattered, he said.

The movement speaks for the political and economic rights of Muslims and their descendants who migrated to Pakistan at partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

Police blame the party for most of the bloodletting in Karachi, including the killing of its political rivals.

The movement denies the charge and accuses the authorities of targeting its members and supporters. Police also reject the movement’s allegation.