News
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Blast rocks ANP rally in Quetta, six killed* ANP’s provincial president, wife injured as explosives explode close to venue of public meeting in Kuchlak
By Mohammad Zafar
QUETTA: At least six people, including a senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), were killed and 18 others wounded, including the ANP provincial president and his wife, in a powerful explosion in Kuchlak, some 20 kilometres from Quetta, on Friday.
According to police, unidentified people had planted explosives to a bicycle placed close to the venue of a public meeting of the ANP, which was being held at the Main Bazaar in Khuclak.
Police said that explosives went off with a big bang as people started gathering at the venue of the meeting. Resultantly, four people, including Pashktun Students Federation Vice President Malik Muhammad Qasim Kakar, were killed on the spot and two others later succumbed to their injuries on their way to hospital. Over 18 others, including ANP Provincial President Aurangzaib Kas and his wife Mahar Aurangzaib, sustained serious wounds.
The other deceased included Malik Faisal Shah Kakar, Noor Muhammad and Dost Muhammad, while identity of two of the deceased could not be immediately ascertained.
“The blast was followed by intense gunfire that triggered panic among the people who started running helter-skelter in a highly crowded market,” a police official said.
The dead and injured were moved to the Civil Hospital Quetta and Combined Military Hospital, where condition of four of the injured was stated to be serious. An emergency was declared at the Civil Hospital Quetta, while the seriously injured were referred to the Combined Military Hospital for further treatment.
Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the area. The blast was so powerful that it destroyed four vehicles parked in the neighbourhood and caused fear and panic among the people in a large area. The blast took place 15 minutes after the gathering had started and there were no proper security arrangements on the part of administration, a witness said, adding that luckily the bicycle to which the explosives were attached was parked between two vehicles, which averted an even bigger disaster.
Bomb Disposal Squad sources said it was a time bomb and seven to eight kilogrammes of explosives were used in the blast.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the blast. In his condolence message to ANP leaders and families of the workers who were killed in the incident, he expressed grief over the loss of lives of innocent people.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk