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Pakistani PM Blames India for Militant Raid on Stock Exchange

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has directly
   accused rival India of being behind a deadly terrorist attack on his
   country's stock exchange building in Karachi.

   Four heavily armed assailants attempted to storm the key economic
   installation in the southern port city Monday, but security guards
   swiftly confronted and killed them in a shootout that officials said
   lasted eight minutes.

   The firefight also killed four other people, including private security
   guards and a police officer.

   "India had wanted to destabilize Pakistan through this attack. '¦ We
   have absolutely no doubt that it was planned in India," Khan told
   Parliament on Tuesday.

   Khan's allegations came a day after India denied any links to the
   assault.

   An outlawed militant group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a
   U.S.-designated global terrorist group, claimed responsibility.

   The group is largely active in and fighting for independence of
   Pakistan's southwestern natural resource-rich Balochistan province,
   along with several other separatist organizations.

   Islamabad consistently blames New Delhi for supporting the militants.

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