News
Thursday, June 27, 2013
SHC judge injured; 10 killed in Karachi blast* 15 wounded as bomb planted on a bike explodes
* Justice Baqir in hospital; driver killed
* TTP says judge attacked for ‘taking decisions against shariah’
By Saud Khan
KARACHI: A bomb attack on a Sindh High Court judge on Wednesday killed at least ten people and injured 15, including the judge, police said.
The intended target of the terrorists was senior Sindh High Court judge Justice Maqbool Baqar, who was on his way to the court along with an escort of four Rangers personnel on two motorbikes and two police vehicles. The convoy was near Burns Road when the powerful bomb exploded. However, Justice Baqar did not suffer any major wound. The blast also damaged Rangers’ motorbikes, police vehicles, walls and windowpanes of a nearby building.
Rescue teams rushed to the blast site and shifted the injured to the Civil Hospital Karachi, where at least ten people, including two Rangers personnel, six policemen and the driver of the judge’s car died. The 15 injured people were admitted for treatment. Justice Baqar was later shifted to the Aga Khan Hospital, where doctors termed his condition out of danger. According to the hospital, his condition is satisfactory as he had only received minor injuries. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah visited Justice Baqar and confirmed that his condition was satisfactory.
A large number of law enforcers, including Rangers and police, reached the blast site and cordoned off the area to avoid any untoward incident. The Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) was also summoned to the blast site to collect evidences and determine the nature of the explosion. According to initial report of the BDS, the bomb was rigged to a motorcycle which was parked along a footpath outside the Hanfia Masjid. The BDS experts said an improvised explosive device (IED) was used in the blast. They added that the bomb weighed around six to eight kilogrammes and contained nuts, bolts and ball bearings.
Police officials said Justice Baqar had serious threats from militant outfits, including outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. They said that about 12 CCTV cameras were installed in the vicinity of the blast site and law enforcers were examining the footages from them for leads. The Sindh police chief has sought a detailed report from the Karachi additional IG regarding the attack. A police statement said that IGP Shahid Nadeem Baloch has also instructed that the crime scene be secured for the collection of all the available evidences. The IGP further directed that with the collaboration of the Forensic Division of Sindh Police all the available evidences be collected from the scene and the process of investigation be made result-oriented.
Baqar has a reputation for honesty and has also served as a judge in special anti-terrorism courts set up to hand down quick judgements in terror cases. TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed the responsibility of the attack, saying they detonated the bomb remotely. “We attacked the judge in Karachi as he was taking decisions against shariah and he was harmful for mujahideen,’’ he said. Ehsan further said that the judge was targeted for what he said were “anti-Taliban and anti-mujahideen decisions”, and that the group would continue to target judiciary.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and leaders of political parties have strongly condemned the blast. Expressing sympathies with the bereaved families, they prayed for the departed souls and for the courage of the affected families to bear their losses with fortitude. The president and prime minister directed the authorities concerned to ensure that best medical assistance is provided to the injured.
Several other politicians strongly condemned the bomb attack on Justice Maqbool Baqar, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain and Awami National Party leader Shahi Syed. Meanwhile, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Justice Musheer Alam, while condemning the bomb attack on Justice Baqar, said the attack on Baqar was terrorism and such attacks cannot frighten the judiciary. Meanwhile, lawyers have announced boycott of court proceedings across Sindh in the wake of the incident. Karachi is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk