Sharif: Musharraf Drowning Pakistan in Blood

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, accused Pakistan's president yesterday of blindly following America and ordering anti-terror operations that have left the country "drowned in blood."

Mr. Sharif's tirade against President Musharraf came as troops and militants clashed near the Afghan border, leaving 30 dead. Separately, a bomb concealed on a motorbike in the southern city of Karachi killed at least nine people and wounded 52.

Mr. Musharraf was in Karachi yesterday to inaugurate a road several miles from the bombing, but he did not appear to be the target.

"Musharraf has destroyed Pakistan. He is blindly following America's orders," Mr. Sharif told an election rally of about 3,000 people on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad. "The whole of Pakistan is drowned in blood."

The former prime minister reiterated his demand for Mr. Musharraf to step down and for a government of national unity to take power and oversee the February 18 parliamentary elections.

Opposition parties say the current caretaker administration is biased and the elections will be rigged in favor of the pro-Musharraf ruling party — allegations that Mr. Musharraf denies.

The latest violence underscored the volatility of Pakistan as the nation heads into the elections. America and other Western nations are hoping the vote will usher in a period of stability as the country battles rising attacks by Al Qaeda and Taliban militants. Mr. Sharif's speech was his first major campaign event since the December 27 assassination of another key opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto.