Foe assails Musharraf ties to U.S.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif yesterday accused President Pervez Musharraf of blindly following the United States and ordering antiterror operations that have left Pakistan "drowned in blood."

Sharif's criticism of Musharraf came as troops and militants clashed near the Afghan border, leaving 30 people dead. Separately, a bomb concealed on a motorbike in the southern city of Karachi killed at least nine people and wounded 52. There was no claim of responsibility.

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," Sharif told an election rally of about 3,000 on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad. "He is blindly following America's orders."

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

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

The latest violence underscored the volatility of Pakistan as the nation heads into the elections. The United States 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 extremists.

Sharif's speech was his first major campaign event since the Dec. 27 assassination of another key opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto.

It was one of his harshest attacks on Musharraf over the president's alliance with Washington, which was forged after the Sept. 11 attacks, and may strike a chord with Pakistanis disenchanted with the war on terrorism.