Pakistan hunts 'suspicious foreigners'

The government has appealed to the public for help

By Zaffar Abbas BBC correspondent in Islamabad

Pakistani security agencies have stepped up efforts to hunt down the perpetrators of Wednesday's bomb explosion in Karachi and other incidents of terrorism.

Police are looking for possible links to al-Qaeda

The Interior Ministry has placed an advertisement in leading Pakistani newspapers, asking the general public to keep an eye out for suspicious foreign nationals.

The advertisement gives the number of an army-managed telephone hotline for people to call with any information.

Although no firm leads have emerged, Pakistani security agencies indicated for the first time that an international terrorist organisation or its Pakistani counterpart may have been involved in the incident.

Foreign involvement

The Interior Ministry advert has asked for information on foreign nationals of doubtful credentials or anyone associated with a foreign or local terrorist organisation.

Security officials say they are increasingly convinced that recent incidents targeting foreign nationals are linked to the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan's support for the US-led war against terrorism.

President Musharraf admitted recently that members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network might have crossed into Pakistan across the highly-porous Afghan border.

The widely-held view among officials is that al-Qaeda members were perhaps trying to find refuge in the country.

Last month's arrest in Pakistan of more than 30 al-Qaeda suspects, including key Bin Laden associate Abu Zubayda, rang alarm bells in official circles.

FBI help

Since the latest suicide bombing in Karachi, authorities have started to work on the theory that some al-Qaeda members may be trying to regroup in Pakistan.

The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is already assisting Pakistan's lead commando force in hunting down al-Qaeda members in a not-so-publicised operation in the tribal region that borders Afghanistan.

And after the Karachi incident, the government has indicated that it may seek further assistance from abroad.

This may lead to a larger-scale security operation against foreign militants and their Pakistani supporters in the country.