A fire has broken out at a major international hotel in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, five months after it was hit by a deadly suicide bombing.
Smoke could be seen pouring from the upscale Marriott Hotel, close to the country’s presidential palace. There was no immediate word on the cause of the blaze. The suicide bombing at the hotel in September 2008 left 57 people dead in what officials called the biggest attack in the country in seven years. Pakistan has been beset by political turmoil in recent months. Supporters of Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif took to the streets Thursday, burning cars and damaging shops, after the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that he and his brother cannot hold elected office.
