ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Sept. 22) – Pakistan’s top leaders were to dine at the luxury hotel that was devastated by a truck bombing over the weekend, but changed the venue at the last minute, a senior government official said Monday.
The blast at the Marriott Hotel in the capital Islamabad killed at least 53 people and underscored the extremist challenge facing nuclear-armed Pakistan, where Taliban and al-Qaida militants are operating out of tribal regions close to Afghanistan.