By Amena Khokhar, KUNA,
Islamabad : Security was tightened in the Pakistani capital on Tuesday after the suicide blast targeting the Danish Embassy killed nearly eight people, while investigators continued to look into the type of explosive used.
Authorities have set up a team of police and intelligence agents to investigate the blast that left a four-foot deep and five-foot wide crater in the middle of the road, about four meters away from the embassy gate.
The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik, had said Monday night that investigators found important clues which could provide a lead to the attackers and the mastermind.
He said a vehicle with a red number-plate bearing diplomatic plates used by the Danish Embassy had been used in the blast.
Interior Ministry sources told KUNA that Malik had instructed the investigation team to present its initial report within 36 hours.
The blast in politically-sensitive Islamabad heightened concerns for the safety of foreigners and was first of its kind since the new civilian government took over power three months back.
The suicide explosion also came after the new government announced that it had engaged in a peace deal with local Taliban militants.
Some press reports citing police sources suggested the blast was carried out by two attackers.
Also, there were speculations that the target of the attack was not the Danish Embassy, but the motorcade of President Pervez Musharraf, and that the vehicle had tried twice to enter the VVIP route near the embassy.
The president attended a ceremony at the National Defence College and was taken to the presidency headquarters in a helicopter after the explosion, local newspapers reported.
The crime scene also raised the question as to why the attacker had not rammed the vehicle into the embassy’s building or gate and had blown it up after passing the gate. The blast caused more damage to the nearby UN-backed NGO building than the embassy.
Some officials said the position of the vehicle showed that the driver might have wanted to turn to the adjacent street to go to the Margalla Road, which the VVIP motorcade was about to cross.