Pakistan's new government was accused Tuesday of lacking the resolve to stem militant activity after a spate of bombings in the country's capital and its main commercial city.

Police continued to probe seven small blasts that wounded 43 people Monday in Karachi and a suicide bombing that killed 18 and wounded dozens Sunday in Islamabad. Investigators in Karachi were focusing on four suspects, city police chief Waist Ahem said.

The attacks coincided with the one-year anniversary of the deadly military siege of Islamabad's radical Red Mosque, a military confrontation that spawned numerous attacks by militants across Pakistan in the months afterward.

Pakistan's leaders this week called for national unity and insisted they are committed to fighting terrorism, but they are increasingly accused of having a contradictory approach _ seeking peace with militants while also using force.

"Any observer of the scene will be struck by what appears to be a lack of resolve on the government's part to crush this mischief that by any standards is the greatest threat to Pakistan," said an editorial in Dawn, a leading Pakistani newspaper.

The News, another major paper, said, "So far, there is considerable confusion in policies regarding militancy."

Pakistan's government came to power after February elections with promises to use peace talks and economic aid to try to end militant violence _ much of which occurs in the northwest tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan.

Under the previous administration dominated by U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf, the government relied heavily on military action against militants. U.S. officials have warned the new government that peace deals could give extremists room to regroup.

But although the government never ruled out using force, it only turned to it on a significant scale in late June when militant groups began threatening the northwest city of Peshawar as well as a key road used to carry supplies to U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.

Late Tuesday, gunmen fired on a vehicle carrying security officers in the Khyber area, killing four and wounding seven, said Mohammad Khan, a local government official.

Compounding the confusion is a lack of clarity over who really is running Pakistan.

Disputes in the ruling coalition have led one party to pull its ministers from the Cabinet. The prime minister has little clout and is seen as subordinate to the unelected leader of his party, Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto. Meanwhile, the powerful military looms large, and the once-dominant Musharraf still lurks in the background.

Analyst Nasim Zehra said that combining peace talks with use of force was not necessarily a bad policy, noting that violence is down compared to last year when Pakistan was struck by an unprecedented wave of suicide attacks blamed on pro-Taliban militants. Continued...