KARACHI, 7 April 2006 — A prominent Shiite leader escaped an assassination attempt yesterday in Karachi. Hassan Turabi, the provincial chief of Islami Tehrik, Pakistan’s main Shiite group, escaped without injury when a bomb hidden under a fruit cart exploded yards away as he got into his car outside his Karachi home. Two bodyguards and a passerby were injured in the blast which occurred in the eastern neighborhood of the port city, an area which has seen frequent sectarian attacks. “We are investigating the case but apparently Turabi was the target of the bomb which was detonated by remote control,” senior police officer Niaz Siddiqui said.
