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Islamic Protest over Attack on Pakistani School

Pakistan has denied that the US was involved in an air strike on a religious school, allegedly serving as a cover for an Al-Quaeda training camp. However, religious leaders have protested Islamabad?s alliance with the US and say that they blame the US for the death of up to 80 people in the strike ? many of which are thought to be militants. The Pakistani military has deployed 80 000 troops along the border which it shares with Afghanistan, in attempt to stop Taliban fighters from stepping up military actions in the region. Islamic leaders, however, say that US warplanes were used in the attack.

Villagers and leaders in the region claimed that all the victims in the Madrassa were religious students, although Pakistan says that it was targeting militia who were using the school as a secret training camp. The villagers and tribesmen in the region of Bajaur, where the attack took place, show widespread support for the Taliban and al-Quaeda. Islamabad was due to sign a peace deal with pro-Tabliban militants on the border in the near future, but it is doubtful that the deal will materialize after the Madrassa attack.

There is now a growing fear that the call by Islamic extremists to protest against the attack will spread from Pakistan to the rest of world. Unrest swept across the region after a European newspaper published derogatory cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet, Muhammed earlier this year. The Pakistani oppositional leader blamed the Americans for influencing Islamabad and dismissed reports that the school was being used as a training camp as ?rubbish?.