Violence Continues in Pakistan After Blast

Protesters rioted for a second day Wednesday after a massive suicide bombing whose death toll rose to at least 57.

Pakistani officials said Tuesday’s bombing in a downtown Karachi park was aimed at wiping out the leadership of a rising Sunni Muslim political force -- the moderate Tehrik group -- whose top two leaders and another senior official were killed in the attack.

A group of youths, apparently Tehrik supporters, torched a bus and two cars and smashed shop windows in a Karachi suburb, defying the massive security deployed to head off the large-scale violence that erupted after the bombing.

Karachi’s normally bustling streets were largely empty Wednesday as security forces blocked roads, closed schools and shut down public transit systems. Shopkeepers kept their doors shut out of respect for the victims and to deter potential vandals.

Funerals for bombing victims were held throughout Karachi and attended by up to 5,000 people.

Tens of thousands are expected to attend today’s funerals for the three Tehrik officials.

Police sought the public’s help in catching those responsible for the attack, displaying the bearded head of the unidentified suicide bomber who killed himself and 56 others.

In Islamabad, meanwhile, a top Pakistani court agreed Wednesday to hear appeals from four air force personnel and a civilian against their convictions in a 2003 plot to kill President Pervez Musharraf, a defense lawyer said. The five were sentenced to death last year by a military court.

In another development, Pakistan’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved a plan to purchase 77 F-16 fighter jets from Washington, a senior minister said.

Information Minister Sheik Rashid Ahmed said at a news conference that Pakistan would also buy FC-10 fighter planes from China, but gave no details.