Four dead, 45 injured in Karachi blast

Agencies

Karachi, 02 January 2013:  Soon after the MQM rally addressed by Dr Tahirul Qadri at the Jinnah Ground, a bomb blast ripped through the nearby Ayesha Manzil area killing four people and injuring at least 45 others.

 

The incident took place just three days after a blast near Karachi Cantt railway station.The bomb blast occurred near the Aga Khan Maternity Hospital in Azizabad police station limits, mainly injuring passengers of a bus.

 

DIG (District West Karachi) Asif Aijaz Sheikh said explosives were strapped on a motorcycle which had been parked in between the buses. The buses were stationed there to take people back home from a public meeting of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

 

Sheikh said that minutes before the bomb blast, a massive rally of the MQM and Dr Tahirul Qadri’s Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran (TMQ) had concluded.After the incident, rescue teams and MQM workers rushed to the spot and took the injured to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where four people breathed their last.

 

Assistant Police Surgeon Saleem, of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, told The News that at least 35 people were brought to the hospital with ball bearing wounds.

 

He said that Rehan, 23, Talib Hussain, 20, Tayyab, 20, and Hashim, 26, succumbed to their injuries during treatment at the hospital.All the deceased were activists of the MQM and lived in Orangi Town.Due to the blast, some buses and other vehicles were also damaged, police said. A large number of people had gathered at the point where the explosives were detonated.

 

The shockwave of the explosion was felt many kilometers away from spot of the sabotage activity. Windowpanes of several buildings in adjoining areas were shattered due to impact of the bomb blast.

 

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Umer Khattab (CID, Sindh) said the blast had been carried out by a remote-controlled device as at the time of explosion, the MQM workers were returning back to their homes.

 

He said he would wait for the final report of the Bomb Disposal Squad and forensic experts to know the exact nature of the blast.SSP Khattab said bomb weighted around three kilograms and was locally made with ball bearings, attached with a remote controlled device.

 

He said the same techniques were used by the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) and Jundullah in their earlier attacks that occurred in Karachi in the month of Muharram last year. He said Jundullah had an expertise in making Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) which directly connects with a mobile SIM.

 

According to the sources, at least three injured were brought to Civil Hospital, four were shifted to Sindh Government Hospital, Liquatabad, and three to Qattar Hospital for treatment. PPI, INP add: Separately, at least eight people including an ASI, a man and son, were killed in different incident of firing and road mishaps in metropolis the same day.

 

51-years-old ASI of Anti Violent Crime Cell (AVCC), Faiz Ahmed, was gunned down by unidentified armed men near Habib Bank Roundabout, in the limit of SITE-A Police Station. The body was moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for autopsy.

 

Similarly, 28-yearss-old Imran Baloch was gunned down by the unknown attackers in old Golimar area in the remit of Pak Colony Police Station. The body was shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for postmortem.

 

Razzaq Baloch, 55, was killed in firing of unidentified armed men near Salaman Heights, Golimar Roundabout in the limits of Gulbahar Police Station. The body was moved to ASH for autopsy.

 

Gulzar, 62, and his son Sarfraz, 35, residents of Malir Colony, died in a road mishap, when two vehicles collided head-on near Millat Town, Shahrah-e-Faisal in the jurisdiction of Al-Falah Police Station.

 

The bodies were moved to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities. ASI Abdul Rehman of Al-Falah Police Station confirmed that both men died in road mishap.

 

Riaz Ahmed, security guard of a private company, was gunned down by unidentified armed men near Lasaniya Restaurant, Rashid Mehnas Road, in the jurisdiction of Shahrah e Faisal Police Station. The body was moved to JPMC for autopsy.

 

Meanwhile, a four-day old beheaded body of a man, aged around 45 years, was recovered from Sher Shah Area in the limits Sher Shah Police Station. It was shifted to CHK for postmortem. The identity of victim could not be ascertained.

 

Another body of a man, whose identity could not be ascertained, was found from Mewashah graveyard, Lyari Town area, in the limit of Pak Colony Police Station. The body of deceased was moved to Civil Hospital for autopsy.

 

In a firing incident, 40-years-old Mehbob Alam was wounded in Orangi Town No. 16. He was shifted to nearby hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, at least 26 people, including two women, were injured due to areal firing on ‘new-year night’. The injured were shifted to different hospitals for medical treatment.