Dozens of Islamic militants attacked the offices of Pakistan's largest newspaper and an affiliated television station early Saturday, burning furniture and breaking windows before fleeing, police and an editor said.

Chanting slogans "God is Great," the attackers threw stones and entered the offices of the Jang newspaper in the southern city of Karachi at about 2 a.m. Saturday, said Mushtaq Shah, a senior police official.

Shah Rukh Hassan, Jang's managing editor, said the attackers also damaged the offices of the company's private Geo television, which is housed in the newspaper building. Nobody was hurt in either attack.

Shah said the unidentified attackers apparently belonged to a religious group, but it wasn't clear why they attacked the newspaper's offices.

"We have started investigations, and the attackers will soon be arrested," Shah said.

The attack came after a newspaper in the Jang group published an interview Friday with Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Perez, who said that his country and Pakistan should have "direct, personal contact, publicly without being ashamed about it."

Pakistan and Israel don't have diplomatic relations and Islamic groups here are against establishing any kind of contact with the country.

So, the unidentified attackers apparently belonged to a religious group (which might explain why they were yelling "God is great!"), and this obviously happened as a result of the Peres interview, yet we still can't quite come out and say so directly, instead stating that the reason "wasn't clear." We wouldn't want anyone to get the idea that Muslims hate Jews and would like to see the state of Israel destroyed, now would we? Heaven forfend!

originally posted at Clarity & Resolve