Pakistanis in the Kingdom voiced their consternation at the bomb blast outside Danish embassy in Islamabad that killed eight people. Resentment against caricatures and anti-Islam film offending the sensibilities of Muslims has grown and there was a grave threat to Danish interests worldwide. “Every action has reaction. The bomb blast is a reaction to the blasphemous caricatures which had hurt Muslims around the world,” said Raja Pervez Akthar, president of Kashmir Press Club. “Non-Muslims especially Danish people, should not engage themselves in hurting the religious sentiments in order to avoid getting harmed,” said Akthar. However, Engineer Naved-ur-Rehman from Nesma does not believe that that the blast was an expression of condemnation of the offending caricatures. “It can be the work of a third party. It must have been done under the pretext of Danish caricature issue. It is yet another attempt to destabilize Pakistan,” he said. Whenever there is a semblance of stability in our country, some terrorist strikes somewhere. It is part of a larger strategy to malign Pakistan,” he said. Danish newspapers infuriated Muslims around the world when they published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in late 2005. The cartoons sparked deadly protests in 2006 which included attacks on Danish missions. “The cause of these bomb blasts is extremism. Extremism never impacts positively and certainly there is no advantage in these explosions,” said Aftab Baqai, who works in SAMA. “These incidents generate more hatred,” he said. Muhammad Akram Fazal, a freelance writer, called it the outcome of economic setbacks in Pakistan rather than extremism. “They can be the militants but, basically it happens as a result of deprivation and anger,” he said. Mrs. Madiha Abdul Jabbar, a teacher, said the attack on Danish embassy is an ineffective and improper way of protest. These types of activities would further spoil the reputation of Muslims in the world, she said. __
