The truck-bomb attack that destroyed the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad and killed 53 people, said Beena Sarwar in India’s The Hindu, could be “Pakistan’s 9/11.” Although other attacks, notably the 2007 attempt to assassinate Benazir Bhutto, killed more people, this one hit near the country's power centers and “had greater symbolic significance.”
There were some initial attempts to blame the bombing on foreigners, said Pakistan’s Daily Times in an editorial, but we have to admit that “this is Pakistan’s war that Pakistan’s army is fighting.” And the enemy is al Qaida, which has targeted Islamabad this year with near-monthly attacks.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The mystery of flight MH370The Explainer In 2014, the passenger plane vanished without trace. Twelve years on, a new operation is under way to find the wreckage of the doomed airliner
-
5 royally funny cartoons about the former prince Andrew’s arrestCartoons Artists take on falling from grace, kingly manners, and more
-
The identical twins derailing a French murder trialUnder The Radar Police are unable to tell which suspect’s DNA is on the weapon
