Pakistan Chief Pressured on Response

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan ‚ Pakistan continued Sunday to reel from the deadly truck bomb blast at the Marriott Hotel here on Saturday, as the government described the bombing as an attack on democracy.

"Our enemies don't want to see democracy flourishing in the country," Rehman Malik, a senior Interior Ministry official, said at a news conference here on Sunday, adding that the attack was meant to sabotage Pakistan's integrity and economy.

The bombing, the most brazen yet apparently in a campaign by militants to destabilize Pakistan, came at a critical moment for the new president, Asif Ali Zardari. While he has pledged to continue fighting militants ‚ now thriving in the tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan ‚ it was unclear whether he would face political resistance making it more difficult to keep that promise.

There has always been a strong feeling in Pakistani society that using force against militants would cause them to retaliate against civilians. Although there has been no claim of responsibility for the hotel bombing, some Pakistanis say they believe it was in retribution for the military's current campaign in Bajaur, in the tribal areas.

Mr. Zardari also faces pressure to avoid doing the bidding of the Bush administration, because Pakistanis are largely opposed to American policies in the region. That sentiment grew after reports that American Special Operations forces had entered Pakistan early this month. Mr. Zardari headed on Sunday to New York, where he will meet with President Bush this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

British Airways, meanwhile, said Monday that it was temporarily suspending its six weekly round-trip flights from London, The Associated Press reported.

In the wake of the bombing, politicians and the military said they were determined to press the fight in the tribal areas.

"There should be no letup now in fighting those who do not believe in negotiations and are bent upon causing destruction," said Amir Haider Khan Hoti, the chief minister of the North-West Frontier Province.

Current and former officials in the Bush administration, who have expressed concern in the past that Pakistan was not doing enough to fight the militants, said on Sunday that they were confident that Mr. Zardari's government would continue or even increase its counterterrorism campaign, despite the threat of more attacks against civilian targets like the Marriott Hotel.

"The terrorist groups are ratcheting up the pressure against the Pakistani politicians, but you won't see the Pakistani government back down because of these attacks," said Xenia Dormandy, who directed South Asia affairs at the National Security Council until 2005.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the hotel blast rose to 53, with at least 266 people wounded, officials said on Sunday. Two Americans were among the dead.

Mr. Malik, the Interior Ministry official, said Pakistani officials suspected that militants from the tribal areas were responsible.

"All roads lead to FATA," Mr. Malik said, referring to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

He said that more than 1,300 pounds of explosives were used, adding that the blast created a crater about 60 feet wide and 25 feet deep.

He also released a videotape showing a six-wheel dump truck stopped by security guards at a barrier in front of the hotel's main entrance. A few gunshots were heard, and after a small explosion the front part of the truck caught fire. It burned for about three minutes as three to four security guards were seen running away and then returning as one guard tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher.

Mr. Malik said investigators were still trying to determine whether the attacker was killed by gunfire from the security guards or explosives detonating inside the truck cabin, or whether he got out of the truck and then detonated an explosive device.

Rescue workers pulled five bodies out of the hotel wreckage on Sunday, as excavators used a crane to clear the debris. Officials had believed, at first, that many people were trapped inside the burning hotel and had feared a much higher death toll.

Mr. Malik said the investigation into the attack would be conducted only by Pakistani authorities.

"We don't need any help; we reject it," he said when asked about an offer from the United States to send F.B.I. agents.

Pakistani officials said at least 106 people, including 11 foreigners, had been admitted to hospitals in Islamabad. Those foreigners included four Americans, four Saudis, a Briton, an Afghan and a Lebanese. One Vietnamese person and the Czech ambassador to Pakistan were among the dead.

On Sunday afternoon, distraught relatives milled about anxiously outside one hospital, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Samia Ali, 33, said she had been visiting Islamabad to attend her sister's wedding and came to the hospital to volunteer. She said most of the patients she had seen had severe burns, head injuries and cuts.

Luqman Khan, 25, was lying on a bed in a surgical ward of the institute on Sunday. He was operated on for a head injury on Saturday night. Mr. Khan said he had worked at a government building across the road from the Marriott.

"A truck filled with bricks was aflame near the entrance," he said. "People were shouting, "Get away! Run away!' After a few minutes, there was a big explosion. I fell unconscious."

On Sunday the police had cordoned off the blast site, and dozens of people stood by in a somber mood.

Shahid Kamal, 42, a freelance editor, said he was sick of the wave of violence that had engulfed Pakistan, especially in the tribal areas.

"This is a reaction of what is going on in FATA," he said. "We have been implementing a reckless and careless policy for a number of years. What's happening in FATA is that Pakistanis are killing Pakistanis."

Muhammad Qadeer, 36, a security guard, said perhaps the Indians could be involved.

"It can be the work of America also," Mr. Qadeer said. "Maybe our new president didn't agree to its dictations."

The New York Times