http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\08\18\story_18-8-2012_pg1_2
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Deadly bomb rocks Shias bus in Karachi; two killed, 18 injured
* Bomb strikes a bus taking Shias to a rally being held to mark Youm-e-Quds
* Police say unidentified persons also opened fire before and after bomb blast
near another bus
By Danish Rafique
KARACHI: Two people lost their lives and 18 others sustained injuries on Friday
after a roadside bomb went off when participants were on their way to
Youm-e-Quds rally near Safari Park on University Road.
Deputy Inspector General (East) Shahid Hayat said that the bombing occurred at
around 3:15pm when a vehicle JA-8210 carrying a large number of participants
reached near the park. As a result, 20 people received injuries. The injured
were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). Two injured,
Manzoor Hussain and Imtiaz Ali, succumbed to their injuries. The injured
include Abdul Wahid, Mehdi Hassan, Ashraf Hussain, Ali Haider, Abdul Qadir,
Nizamuddin, Rahat, Murtaza Kazmi and Minhaj. Doctors said three injured were in
a critical condition.
The Youm-e-Quds rally is taken out every year on the last Friday of Ramazan.
The rally was scheduled to begin from Numaish Chowrangi and conclude at Tibet
Centre. The bomb also caused damage to the wall of the park and two vehicles.
Following the explosion, heavy contingents of law enforcers and volunteers from
various welfare associations reached the site and shifted the victims to
various hospitals.
The Bomb Disposal Squad officials believed that such bombs were used to target
the Rangers personnel in the recent days in the city, adding that the bomb
contained two-and-a-half kg of explosive. They said that it was a
remote-controlled device and was also carrying ball bearings.
Police investigators suspected the involvement of militant organisations,
especially the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, in
the incident.
A large number of Imamia Students Organisation volunteers gathered at Numaish
Chowrangi and staged a sit-in to protest against the incident. They also
shouted slogans against the government and law enforcers for not providing
enough security to the participants of the rally. The protesters also burnt
tyres and blocked the road for traffic for hours. Karachi Commissioner Roshan
Ali Sheikh said it was a planted device.
Police said that some unidentified people also opened fire before and after the
bomb blast near a bus, carrying students from the Karachi University.
"A low-intensity bomb planted near a bus stand in Gulistan-e-Jauhar
neighbourhood exploded and hit a car and a bus," senior police official Shahid
Hayat told AFP.
"The bomb killed a man in the car and injured 11 others, most of whom were bus
passengers," Hayat said.
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