KOHAT/QUETTA: Fourteen Shiite people were martyred and over 40 others injured in three bombing incidents and target killings in Kohat and Quetta and Karachion Saturday.
Bomb explosion in Kohat
At least six Shiite persons, including a child, were killed and 17 others injured in a bomb explosion at the Peshawar Chowk bus stand in Kohat late on Saturday morning, officials said.
An improvised explosive device (IED) weighing three kilograms was used in the explosion that took place at around 11am. Three vehicles were also damaged.
The injured were taken to the nearby Liaquat Memorial Hospital. Those killed included Taimur, Syed Shah Zain, Eman, Shabbir Ali, Mehtab Hussain and Qamar Abbas. They were laid to rest in Ustarzai, Alizai, Kachai and Chakarkot villages amid touching scenes later in the day.
The injured were identified as Mohammad Hussain, Sajid Fareed, Shazia, Mudassir, Shahan Hussain, Nusrat Hussain, Hassan Jan, Amir Hamza, Tahir Ali, Said Muhammad, Roohullah, Mohammad Hussain, Qasim, Sajid Ali, Ali Ghulam Mustafa, Salma and Baz Mohammad.
The district administration declared a state of emergency at all the hospitals soon after the blast.
Kohat Division Commissioner Syed Jamaluddin Shah inquired after the injured and directed the doctors to provide them with the best available treatment.
District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Marwat also inspected the site of the blast. The police cordoned off the site and closed the Hangu-Peshawar Road to traffic for security reasons.
Bomb disposal unit officials said the explosives were packed in a canister. The blast occurred when people were coming to Kohat bazaar for Eid shopping.
Members of the Shia community were believed to be the target of the attack. Vehicles at the Peshawar Chowk mostly carry Shias to and from the Bangash-populated belt on the Hangu Road. City police registered a case against unknown persons.
It may be recalled that 14 people were killed and 16 others sustained injuries in a blast at the same bus stand in Kohat on February 23 this year.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan Abbasi condemned the killing of innocent people in the blast and said the elements behind the heinous crime would be brought to justice.
He expressed deep shock and sorrow over the loss of precious human lives and said such cowardly acts couldn’t prevent the government from establishing the writ of the state.
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak also condemned the blast and termed it a heinous act of terrorism. He announced compensation for the slain and the injured.
An official communique said the heirs of all the slain persons would be paid Rs500,000 and the injured Rs200,000 each.
Bomb explosions in Quetta
Later, Quetta was rocked by two powerful bomb explosions, killing at least five Shiite people and injuring 30 others on Saturday night.
In the first explosion, police said a suicide bomber attempted to enter Aliabad Bazaar of Hazara town where people belonging to the Hazara community were busy in Eid shopping. The man detonated his explosives-laden vest at Aliabad Chowk. This resulted in the death of as many as five people. The death toll may rise, hospital sources feared.
All the injured were shifted to the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital where an emergency was declared. Later, the injured were shifted to the CMH. The condition of some of the injured was stated to be precarious.
Eyewitnesses said a huge pall of smoke rose at the site after the explosion forcing people to rush to safety. Police and law enforcement personnel cordoned off the area and started an investigation. A heavy contingents of the police and Frontier Corps (FC) also rushed to the spot while the officials of bomb disposal squad examined the type of explosive material.
Earlier, the city was rocked by a powerful car bombing at Spini Road.
Officials of the police confirmed it was a suicide bombing as the head and other remains of the suicide bomber had been taken into custody for investigation.
Planted in a car parked by the side of the road, the bomb went off as a police officer’s vehicle was passing by.
“The bomb was planted in a car in a relatively deserted location on Spini Road. It exploded just after a police deputy superintendent passed,” Quetta police chief Abdul Razzak Cheema said.
“Up to 40 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast,” said bomb disposal chief Commander Abdul Razzak. “Luckily the area was not that crowded. This huge quantity of explosives could have killed many people if it had exploded in a busy area,” he said.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack till the filing of the report in the evening.
Shia journalist martyred in takfiri terrorist attack in Hafizabad
Shia journalist Nadeem Haider embraced martyrdom due to takfiri terrorist attack in Punjab province’s Hafizabad area. He was Daily Dunya’s correspondent as well as an owner of a school near Kaliki Mandi area.
Alongside his journalistic job, he was also teaching students at his school where takfiri terrorists of banned ASWJ (Sipah-e-Sahaba) stormed into and opened fire upon Nadeem Haider. Nadeem embraced martyrdom on the spot and terrorists fled the scene.
Two Shia Muslims martyred in Karachi
KARACHI: A Shia Muslim Rehmatullah was shot martyred after the Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat (ASWJ) terrorists opened fires on him in Karachi’s Manghopir area on Thursday.
Martyr Rehmatullah s/o Atta Ali, aged-35-yeras, belongs to Hazara community. He was attacked near KMC Market in Basti Yaqoob area of Manghopir. His body has been shifted to Ancholi Imambargah – Masjid E Kherul Amal.
Martyr Rehmatullah was owner of a general store at KMC market.
Another Shia Muslim Zulfiqar Ali, who was shot injured by ASWJ terrorists in Orangi two days ago, has succumbed to his injuries at Fatimiyyah hospital today.
Pro-Taliban terrorists of (ASWJ) have killed thousands innocent Shiite Muslims across the country but government, law enforcement agencies and judiciary have failed to protect the citizens across the country.
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