Blast Kills 15 at Anti-Musharraf Rally

Dozens Hurt in Suicide Attack In Heart of Pakistani Capital

Troops of Pakistan's paramilitary troops take positions in a troubled city of Matta, Swat after a Sunday's suicide attack which killed 18 people in northwestern Pakistan, Monday, July 16, 2007. Pakistan authorities were probing suspected links between radicals at the captured Red Mosque and militants in the northwest frontier, where more than 70 people died in weekend suicide attacks and bombings. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zubair) (Mohammad Zubair - AP)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 17 -- At least 15 people died and more than 40 were wounded when a suicide bomber targeted a group of demonstrators gathered in the heart of the Pakistani capital Tuesday night to demand an end to President Pervez Musharraf's eight-year rule.

The attack threw Pakistan into even greater disarray following a week in which a deadly raid by army commandos at a radical Islamabad mosque provoked revenge attacks across the country's volatile northwest. Intense turmoil in Pakistan has claimed more than 200 lives this month.

Islamic fighters have declared war on the government, aiming to overthrow it with violence. The moderate Musharraf opponents who gathered Tuesday night say they also want to oust the general, but through upcoming elections. They were rallying in support of Pakistan's suspended chief justice, who was removed from his post by Musharraf.

It was not immediately clear who was behind Tuesday's attack. Some of the protesters who witnessed the deadly bombing blamed Islamic extremists, but others pointed the finger at Musharraf.

Late Tuesday night, hundreds of protesters from the targeted rally converged on a nearby hospital, where they angrily chanted anti-government slogans as the bodies of their colleagues were wheeled out on stretchers.

"We hold the government responsible for this -- whether it was a security lapse or a deliberate intimidation tactic designed to send us a message," said Sen. Muhammad Latif Khosa, a member of the opposition Pakistan People's Party. "This was a targeted attack meant to forestall the movement for the chief justice. But we will not be deterred."

The bomb, which sent body parts flying dozens of yards and shattered windows at a nearby market, appeared aimed at members of the People's Party, Pakistan's largest opposition group. The party's exiled leader, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has been one of Musharraf's most outspoken critics.

But Bhutto endorsed the government raid against Islamabad's Red Mosque and has been reported to be in negotiations with Musharraf about a possible power-sharing arrangement. Tuesday night's attack could have a significant impact on those talks.

In a statement released last night by Bhutto's office, her party expressed "apprehension that a hidden hand was creating anarchy in the country with a view to pave way for imposing emergency." That sort of language is often used as code to refer to the nation's hugely influential intelligence agencies.

Musharraf has said elections will go ahead as planned later this year or in early 2008. But as the country descends deeper into chaos, rumors persist that the general -- who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 -- will declare martial law and cancel the vote.

Last night, Musharraf called for a high-level investigation of the bombing. His information minister, Mohammed Ali Durrani, termed the attack "an act of terrorism. And any act of terrorism is against the people of Pakistan. I don't think there can be any political dimension to it."

The bomber detonated his charge about 8:30 p.m. as a crowd of hundreds awaited the arrival of the suspended chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. Activists from the Pakistan People's Party were waving flags and chanting slogans.