I think it would be very serious if it does."The execution date for the 36-year-old from Leeds coincides with a planned visit to Pakistan by the Prince of Wales, his first to the country, during which he is scheduled to meet General Musharraf, and there have been calls for the trip to be cancelled.This is the first time that Mr Blair has commented so directly on Mr Hussain's case in public, and his intervention, even at so late a stage, will raise hopes he can still be saved.Mr Hussain was convicted of murdering a Pakistani taxi driver in 1988, even though a judge at the final hearing ruled he had been framed by Pakistani police. At least 2,000 people have been killed in violence so far this year, and a 2002 ceasefire now exists only on paper. Both sides have said they will go ahead with talks in Switzerland.. Tony Blair has pledged to do all he can to save a Briton condemned to death in Pakistan for a crime of which he almost certainly innocent. Almost simultaneously, the Pakistani authorities announced that Mirza Tahir Hussain's execution has been rescheduled for 1 November, leaving just two weeks to save him. Replying to a question in the House of Commons, Mr Blair warned that it would be "very serious" if Mr Hussain is executed.
"We have raised this constantly with the Pakistani authorities," he said. A security spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, accused the Tigers of trying to provoke revenge attacks on civilians in order to win international sympathy ahead of the talks in Switzerland."We ask the people not to fall into the trap that has been laid by the LTTE," he told reporters.It appears there were some minor attacks in Galle and the police fired in the air to disperse the crowd. But reports from the town said that it was calm and under heavy security yesterday evening.The police also denied claims of revenge attacks on Tamils further north, near the scene of Monday's suicide bombing.Hours after yesterday's attack, the Sri Lankan military launched air raids on Tiger-held territory near the eastern town of Batticaloa. It will throw further doubt over peace talks scheduled to take place in Switzerland later this month.There were differing accounts of exactly what happened in yesterday's attack, as both sides are also engaged in a propaganda war. The Sri Lankan navy said it managed to destroy three of the Tiger boats, but other accounts claimed they were detonated in suicide attacks on navy vessels.The Sri Lankan government was also at pains to play down reports of revenge attacks on Tamil shopkeepers in Galle.
It is also famous for its hotels and restaurants.Attacking it represents a major shift in tactics for the Tigers, who have generally avoided targeting tourist areas, confining their raids to the north and east, and the capital Colombo - to the extent that it has been possible for tourists to continue visiting the south coast despite fighting on the other side of the island.The attack comes only two days after at least 95 sailors were killed when a convoy of buses was hit in a suspected suicide bombing. Galle is the only major town on Sri Lanka's south coast with popular tourist beaches. Last night the town was under curfew amid reports of revenge attacks on shops owned by Tamils.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have a reputation for staging spectacularly effective attacks, and yesterday's was no exception. Although the raid was on a Sri Lankan naval base, it seemed clear the real target was the tourism industry, just weeks before the start of the major season.
