The New Nation - Internet Edition

The bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan capital Islamabad Sunday appeared to be a well-designed military operation which cannot be brushed aside as mere suicide bombing.

Information gathered on the blast that killed about 60 including foreigners and injured about 250 others was from a bomb that included, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said, an estimated 1,300 pounds of military-grade explosives as well as artillery and mortar shells and left a crater 59 feet wide and 24 feet deep in front of the main building.

Czech Ambassador Ivo Zdarek was among the dead. Zdarek, 47, only moved to Islamabad in August after four years as Ambassador to Vietnam.

Malik said, two Americans were confirmed dead as well as one Vietnamese national. Officials in Pakistan said at least 21 foreigners were among the wounded, including Britons, Germans, Americans and several people from the Middle East.

Islamist militant groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban are believed to be behind the blast, though there has been no confirmed claim of responsibility.

They have been waging a campaign of violence ever since former army chief and ex-president Pervez Musharraf made a foreign policy U-turn, ditching support for the Taliban and jihadi groups to side with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

The militants intensified attacks across the country, killing hundreds of people, after a commando assault to crush an armed movement at Islamabad's Red Mosque in July last year.

The bombing came just hours after President Asif Ali Zardari made his first address to Parliament, less than a mile away from the hotel. Malik said authorities received intelligence there might be militant activity linked to Zardari's address and security had been tightened.

It happened in the wake of a series of U.S. missile strikes against militant targets in the Pakistani tribal lands bordering Afghanistan.

The militants believe the government and army have helped the United States, despite Pakistani protests following a U.S. commando raid, the first known operation by U.S. ground troops inside Pakistan, in the Waziristan tribal region on Sept. 3.

Hundreds of Islamist fighters have been killed in a major offensive by the Pakistani army in the Bajaur tribal region during the past few weeks.

The blast very close to the Pakistan President's house and the residence of the Prime Minister proved the ability of the attackers to strike deep inside high security areas.

Former President Mosharraf was too happy to be too close an ally in the American war on terrorism in Afghanistan. The result is, Pakistan has now become an extension of Afghanistan for the fight against the Taliban. American help should have been taken to make Pakistan strong in protecting its borders with Afghanistan. Thereby not provoking the Talibans to target Pakistan in their fight against America. Pakistan is in real trouble now.

Now Pakistan needs both military and economic help so that Pakistan remains a bulwark against the Talibans' extension of war in Afghanistan and not part of the war in Afghanistan. The problem is, the western allies are not ready to see the real causes of Muslim anger and frustration. As good friend Pakistan should help America to understand the flaws in the war on terror. Islam is not a terrorist religion.