Saudi diplomat assassinated in Karachi

Pakistani security guards and police stand guard at the entrance of the Saudi Arabian consulate in Karachi after a grenade attack on May 11, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180132.html

A Saudi diplomat has been assassinated by unknown assailants in a drive-by shooting near the Saudi consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi.

The Saudi diplomat was onboard a vehicle with diplomatic plates when two motorcycle riders opened fire at his car at a crossroads, Pakistani police in Karachi told AFP on Monday.

"The consulate employee died of multiple bullet wounds on the spot," said Karachi police chief Fayyaz Leghari.

"The attackers fled on the motorbike," he further explained.

The recent assassination marks the second offensive on Saudi interests in Pakistan's largest city in less than a week.

The attack came in the wake of a grenade attack on the Saudi consulate on Wednesday which left no damage or casualties.

The Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Aziz al-Ghadeer, confirmed the attack but did not give details on the rank of the slain diplomat. A Pakistani Home Ministry official, however, said the man was a junior officer.

"We condemn this attack. No one who carries out this kind of attack can be a Muslim," the Saudi ambassador said.

Pakistani officials say the attack is a possible reaction to the US killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

US President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden was killed by US forces on May 1 in a hiding compound near Islamabad.

A US official later announced that bin Laden's body was abruptly buried at sea, falsely boasting that his hasty burial was in accordance with the Islamic law, requiring burial within 24 hours of death.

However, burial at sea is not an Islamic practice and Islam does not have a decree on a burial timeframe.

US officials also claimed their decision of the sea burial was made because no country would accept his remain, without elaborating on which countries were actually contacted on the matter.

Analysts, however, have raised serious questions as to why US officials did not allow for the application of a DNA test to officially confirm the identity of the corpse before the quick sea burial.

Furthermore, Obama announced in a televised interview that he decided not to publish "disturbing imaged" of bin Laden's dead body to avert "a national security risk" and due to concerns that it might be used as a "propaganda tool."