I'm OK

I'm fine, everybody. Far away from any violence.

There was a suicide bomb blast in town this afternoon and according to the news at least three people have died. Possibly five. I wasn't able to ascertain from Dawn News who is being blamed for the bombing or if the person or group's identity is known at this point. In any event, it seems that those persons who do this sort of thing are stepping up their attacks on police, military, and other government targets.

Fighting between the military and militant groups, including local Taliban affiliates, has been more or less on-going in Waziristan, in the far Northwest of the country. The Waziristan confilicts have been widely reported in the international and national news. Beyond that particular hotspot, most of the bomb blasts and other attacks have taken place in the North West Frontier Province, or NWFP, which borders Afghanistan. (NWFP is nowhere near me.)

Unfortunately--as if the above were not unfortunate enough--there have been more and more frequent attacks within major cities, and not just in Peshawar in the NWFP. Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Lahore have seen more violence in the last few months as well. I must stress that these are still unusual occurrences. They are also directed specifically at government and military targets, and have so far been confined to particular parts of town where official posts are numerous. I can't say that that makes me feel all cozy and secure, but I live in a large city and am generally far away from such targets, both at home and at work. So I'm not especially worried.