BANGKOK: Massive crowds of black-clad Thais lined Bangkok’s streets Friday hoping to see King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s body borne to his palace, as the nation grieved for a monarch whose passing leaves the country facing an uncertain future.
Bhumibol, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, passed away at 88 on Thursday after years of ill health, ending seven decades as a stabilising figure in a nation of deep political divisions.
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, is the king’s named successor but has made a surprise request to delay formally assuming the throne, according to Thailand’s junta leader, who appealed for citizens to “not cause chaos.”
A sea of reverent mourners, sprinkled with umbrellas against the harsh tropical sun, thronged sidewalks along the route of a royal motorcade that will bear the king from the hospital where he died to his glittering nearby palace complex.
Thousands of others, many holding his portrait, waited at the palace compound, shattered by the loss of the only king most have ever known and expressing anxiety for the future.
Some mourners at the hospital fainted in the heat and were carried away on stretchers, AFP journalists said.
Phongsri Chompoonuch, 77, clutched the late monarch’s portrait as she walked toward the palace.
“No matter how far it is, I can walk,” she said, her voice shaking and eyes glistening with tears.
“We no longer have him. I don’t know whether I can accept that. I fear, because I don’t know what will come next,” she added.
At the palace, the crown prince was to preside over the bathing of the king’s body, a traditional Buddhist funeral rite.
Months of palace rituals were to follow, including at least 100 days of chanting by monks.
Thais had expected Vajiralongkorn to be officially proclaimed king immediately.
But military junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha late Thursday announced the prince had sought a delay to mourn and prepare for the crown.
Bhumibol was seen as a pillar of stability during his politically turbulent 70-year reign, and uncertainty for the future rests largely on doubts over whether his son can exert the same calming moral authority.
The crown prince spends much of his time overseas and does not command the reverence at home that his father did.
There was no indication of a threat to the crown prince’s eventual succession, however, and analysts said the pause could merely be out of respect for the deeply revered king.
Strict lese majeste laws muffle detailed discussion of the sensitive succession issue.
“We maybe shouldn’t read too much into (the delay),” said David Streckfuss, an expert on the Thai monarchy.
“But we have already departed from what should have been a normal succession process. An element of ambiguity has been injected into the situation.”
Government offices and state-run enterprises were closed out of respect Friday, but commercial activity otherwise carried on as usual.
Stocks, pressured all week as the king’s health worsened, rebounded Friday, with the benchmark index gaining 4.18 percent by midday.
Authorities continued to interrupt all television programming in the country — including international networks such as the BBC and CNN — using their signals to broadcast non-stop hagiographic fare on the king’s life.
But color was restored, a day after all TV images were transmitted in black and white.
Praise for Bhumibol’s role as a ruler devoted to his subjects has poured in from across the globe including from US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
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Thailand mourns King Bhumibol
Thailand mourns King Bhumibol
Afghans mourn villagers killed in Pakistani strikes
- Afghans gathered around a mass grave Sunday to bury villagers killed in overnight air strikes by Pakistan, which said its military targeted militants
BIHSUD: Afghans gathered around a mass grave Sunday to bury villagers killed in overnight air strikes by Pakistan, which said its military targeted militants.
The overnight attacks killed at least 18 people and were the most extensive since border clashes in October, which left more than 70 dead on both sides and wounded hundreds.
“The house was completely destroyed. My children and family members were there. My father and my sons were there. All of them were killed,” said Nezakat, a 35-year-old farmer in Bihsud district, who only gave one name.
Islamabad said it hit seven sites along the border region targeting Afghanistan-based militant groups, in response to suicide bombings in Pakistan.
The military targeted the Pakistani Taliban and its associates, as well as an affiliate of the Daesh group, a statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said “people’s homes have been destroyed, they have targeted civilians, they have committed this criminal act” with the bombardment of Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.
Residents from around the remote Bihsud district in Nangarhar joined searchers to look for bodies under the rubble, an AFP journalist said, using shovels and a digger.
“People here are ordinary people. The residents of this village are our relatives. When the bombing happened, one person who survived was shouting for help,” said neighbor Amin Gul Amin, 37.
Nangarhar police told AFP the bombardment started at around midnight and hit three districts, with those killed all in a civilian’s house.
“Twenty-three members of his family were buried under the rubble, of whom 18 were killed and five wounded,” said police spokesperson Sayed Tayeeb Hammad.
Strikes elsewhere in Nangarhar wounded two others, while in Paktika an AFP journalist saw a destroyed guesthouse but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
- ‘Calculated response’ -
Afghanistan’s defense ministry said it will “deliver an appropriate and calculated response” to the Pakistani strikes.
The two countries have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban authorities retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistani military action killed 70 Afghan civilians between October and December, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan.
Several rounds of negotiations followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkiye, but they have failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Saudi Arabia intervened this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.
The deteriorating relationship has hit people in both countries, with the land border largely shut for months.
Pakistan said Sunday that despite repeated urging by Islamabad, the Taliban authorities have failed to act against militant groups using Afghan territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan.
The Afghan government has denied harboring militants.
Islamabad launched the strikes after a suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad two weeks ago and other such attacks more recently in northwestern Pakistan.
The Daesh group had claimed responsibility for the mosque bombing, which killed at least 40 people and wounded more than 160 in the deadliest attack in Islamabad since 2008.
The militant group’s regional chapter, Islamic State-Khorasan, also claimed a deadly suicide bombing at a Kabul restaurant last month.
The overnight attacks killed at least 18 people and were the most extensive since border clashes in October, which left more than 70 dead on both sides and wounded hundreds.
“The house was completely destroyed. My children and family members were there. My father and my sons were there. All of them were killed,” said Nezakat, a 35-year-old farmer in Bihsud district, who only gave one name.
Islamabad said it hit seven sites along the border region targeting Afghanistan-based militant groups, in response to suicide bombings in Pakistan.
The military targeted the Pakistani Taliban and its associates, as well as an affiliate of the Daesh group, a statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said “people’s homes have been destroyed, they have targeted civilians, they have committed this criminal act” with the bombardment of Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.
Residents from around the remote Bihsud district in Nangarhar joined searchers to look for bodies under the rubble, an AFP journalist said, using shovels and a digger.
“People here are ordinary people. The residents of this village are our relatives. When the bombing happened, one person who survived was shouting for help,” said neighbor Amin Gul Amin, 37.
Nangarhar police told AFP the bombardment started at around midnight and hit three districts, with those killed all in a civilian’s house.
“Twenty-three members of his family were buried under the rubble, of whom 18 were killed and five wounded,” said police spokesperson Sayed Tayeeb Hammad.
Strikes elsewhere in Nangarhar wounded two others, while in Paktika an AFP journalist saw a destroyed guesthouse but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
- ‘Calculated response’ -
Afghanistan’s defense ministry said it will “deliver an appropriate and calculated response” to the Pakistani strikes.
The two countries have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban authorities retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistani military action killed 70 Afghan civilians between October and December, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan.
Several rounds of negotiations followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkiye, but they have failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Saudi Arabia intervened this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.
The deteriorating relationship has hit people in both countries, with the land border largely shut for months.
Pakistan said Sunday that despite repeated urging by Islamabad, the Taliban authorities have failed to act against militant groups using Afghan territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan.
The Afghan government has denied harboring militants.
Islamabad launched the strikes after a suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad two weeks ago and other such attacks more recently in northwestern Pakistan.
The Daesh group had claimed responsibility for the mosque bombing, which killed at least 40 people and wounded more than 160 in the deadliest attack in Islamabad since 2008.
The militant group’s regional chapter, Islamic State-Khorasan, also claimed a deadly suicide bombing at a Kabul restaurant last month.
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