Wampum

The Islamabad District Bar Association was engaged today with a man-packed munition 20 minutes before Chief Justice Iftikar M Chaudhry was scheduled to speak. The bomber detonated his payload underneath the speaker's dias, killing at least 10 people and wounding another 35.

The question of the moment is was the CJ the target, or was Benizer Bhutto's party, the PPP, the target. Most of the killed and wounded are PPP, but had the payload been detonated 20 minutes later, the CJ would have been a casualty.

Bhutto is the only opposition leader to have welcomed the July 11 attack on Lal Masjid and expressed unqualified support for Musharaff.

Updates as they come in.

Update: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher: We all recognize that the agreement in North Waziristan hasn't worked, because the government doesn't have direct control., and [the U.S. will help Pakistan boost its Frontier Corps] so they become a different kind of force that's able to deal with the severe problems, but also stabilize the area.

If the Punjabi state had direct control over North Waziristan, no agreement would be necessary. As for making the FC able to deal with the severe problems (more firepower) and stabilize (less firepower), at $2bn/yr already, what does Assistant Secretary Boucher have in mind? Booster chairs?