KARACHI/ISLAMABAD, 14 September 2007 — Gunmen riding on three motorcycles threw a grenade and opened fire yesterday at a bus as it traveled through a southern Pakistan city, killing six people and wounding six others, police said.

According to residents, four among the dead were supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, which has a history of clashes with an ethnic-based group in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.

Mohammed Danish, a spokesman for the Jamaat-e-Islami party’s student wing, Islamic Jamiat Tulba (IJT), blamed their rival Muttaheda Qaumi Movement (MQM) for the attack, although he didn’t offer any evidence to back up his claim.

MQM mainly represents Urdu-speaking migrants in Karachi. Jamaat-e-Islami is the country’s largest religious party.

Azhar Faruqi, the city’s police chief, called the attack an “act of terrorism” but provided no further details.

Anwar Kazmi, a spokesman for private relief service the Edhi Foundation, said the bus was partly burned by the blast.

In Islamabad, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte held talks yesterday with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and other Pakistani officials.

Musharraf told Negroponte during a two-hour meeting that “Pakistan’s commitment to fight terrorism should never be doubted as it was in Pakistan’s own national interest,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Negroponte praised Pakistan’s campaign against terrorism in its own backyard and said Washington was committed to a long-term relationship with Islamabad.

However, Pakistan is bristling over a new law tying the release of future aid to certification by the US administration that its ally in the war on terrorism is getting results against Al-Qaeda and the Taleban.

Musharraf said such a legislation, which casts shadow on bilateral relation, should be avoided. He urged against the pending US legislation that would tie aid payments to Pakistan’s performance in fighting Al-Qaeda, and “underscored the need for better understanding of Pakistan counterterrorism efforts in the US.”

Musharraf also assured Negroponte that presidential and general elections in Pakistan would be free and fair.

Negroponte and Musharraf also discussed a wide range of issues including Afghan situation. The US official also met Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao later in the day.

Musharraf faces a political crisis ahead of his attempt to get re-elected for another five-year term as president in uniform in coming weeks.

In another development, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) decided yesterday to nominate Gen. Musharraf as their presidential candidate. This decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Meanwhile, Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, told the Associated Press President Musharraf has little time left to seal a pact with Benazir that a senior official said yesterday was vital to stop Pakistan’s slide into political crisis.

Musharraf and Benazir have been trying for months to secure an agreement that would allow the Pakistan People’s Party leader to return from exile and help Musharraf get another term. But with the presidential election due in less than five weeks, the two sides have yet to resolve key differences on how they might share power.

“The ball is in the court of the government, and the time has almost completely run out,” Farhatullah Babar said. “The window is not completely shut, but no agreement has been reached.”

A pact with Benazir could help Musharraf overcome expected legal challenges to another run. Benazir wants authorities to drop corruption cases pending against her and insists Musharraf must step down as army chief. However, Musharraf’s political allies are resisting her demands and want him to retain much of his sweeping powers.

Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the main sticking point was Benazir’s demand for the repeal of a bar on anyone serving more than twice as prime minister.

Benazir led two short-lived governments in the 1990s and has said she would like to become prime minister again.

The president’s army role was no obstacle, Ahmed said on Geo television. He urged Benazir to agree to a compromise to avoid “a new crisis” in Pakistan.

Babar said that Benazir will return “irrespective of what the regime does” and that her party will announce her arrival date today.