Explosion in stadium precedes pope's visit

A man carrying an explosive device into a stadium where Pope John Paul II was to celebrate mass Monday was killed when it exploded, Pakistani police said. The device may have been a grenade, they added.

The explosion occurred about 20 minutes before the pope, starting his first tour of Asia, arrived at the stadium from Karachi airport. There was speculation that the blast may have been planned as a protest against the government of Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, who recently rejected pleas from politicians to hold a general election within three months.