 Top leaders of the Sunni Tehreek (ST) were among 57 people killed in a suicide bomb attack during a special Eid Miladun Nabi congregation arranged by the Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat (JAS) at Nishtar Park on Tuesday evening. An estimated 100 people, including children, were injured in the attack, and at least ten are in critical condition. The death toll has now risen to 57, while there are also reports that some people are still missing, Sindh government spokesman Salahuddin Haider said.
On Tuesday, approximately 15,000 men and children headed for Nishtar Park at Numaish for Maghrib prayers after an Eid Miladun Nabi procession. A stage was set up at the front of the park where about five rows of top JAS leaders, including ST people, congregated. Thousands of other ST followers followed the prayers behind on the ground. At about 7:00pm a suicide bomber came to the front of the stage during the third rakaat of Maghrib prayers and detonated explosives around his torso. About 150 men were on the stage at the time. The suicide bomber was believed to be closest to ST leader Abbas Qadri, who is usually accompanied by many guards.
| My guess would be that he was the target. I never caught on to the idea of "hey, look at me" praying, but I'd say that was what did Qadri in. |
According to the bomb disposal squad (BDS), the bomb weighed about five kilogrammes and consisted of locally made highly explosive material. BDS officials told Daily Times that they had cleared the area around the stage on Tuesday afternoon prior to the congregation, and this helped them later rule out that a bomb had been planted in the stage.
| So the explosives had to walk in. With 15,000 of the Faithful™ in attendance, it'd be hard to check them all for explosives, even if they'd allow doggies around the mosques. |
The suicide attackers head has been found and the police are likely to issue a sketch soon.
| It'll be interesting to see who he is, and who he's associated with... |
An emergency was declared in all Karachi hospitals. The injured and dead flooded Liaquat National Hospital, Civil Hospital Karachi, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Highly emotional ST supporters thronged the hospitals where chaos and mayhem ensued.
| It's understandable that people would be highly emotional about the carnage, despite the fact that being highly emotional about most things seems to be one of those things you get with your turban when you become a Muslim... |
According to the police, a total of 104 people were injured out of which 79 are still being treated. Among the injured were four photographers, one cameraman, and one reporter. The ST leaders who were killed included chief Abbas Qadri, Iftikhar Bhatti, Akram Qadri, Maulana Abdul Qadir, Hafiz Mohammad Taqi, Pir Yaqoob Shah, Maulana Waheed Bandhiani, Hafiz Yameen, Hafiz Noor Mohammad, Maulana Kashif, Zakir Hussain, Hafiz Mohammad Yaseen, Haji Hanif Billo and Shah Faridul Hassan Kazmi of the JAS.
| 'Nother words, their leadership is effectively wiped out. For those who aren't up on their Pak beastiary, maulanas are the Pak version of mullah; a hafiz is somebody who's memorized the Koran; a haji is someone who's made the trip to Mecca and stampeded around the stone representing the Moon God; and a pir is a saint (self-proclaimed is okay). |
The Special Investigation Group (SIG) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) visited the site of the blast on Wednesday and collected forensic evidence. The team also visited the Edhi mortuary at Sohrab Goth and inspected the body of the man suspected of being the suicide bomber. FIA sources said that the SIGs preliminary report said the suspected suicide bomber had a beard and appeared to be in his mid-thirties. However, the report said that it was difficult to say anything about his ethnic background as stitching and surgery might have affected his facial features.
| Mid-thirties with a beard describes about a third of the participants in the periodic mob scenes we see in Karachi, another third being mid-twenties with a beard and the other third being mid-40s with a beard... |
The report said the bomb was locally assembled and contained plastic explosives packed with small metal ball bearings which increased the lethality of the blast.
Agencies add: Police fired teargas to disperse angry rioters who burned buses and tyres on Wednesday. The clashes between youths and police followed similar riots on Tuesday night when three gas stations and more than a dozen vehicles were torched. In some areas unknown persons burnt three buses and forced shopkeepers to close their shops. Police fired a few tear-gas shells to disperse them, said Sindh government spokesman Salahuddin Haider. Police said they arrested some people during the protest. Witnesses said gunmen opened fire near a bazaar in a southern district of Karachi to force the shopkeepers to close their businesses.
| That's the emotionalism we were discussing earlier. Western emotionalism runs to blubbering and hand-wringing; Pak emotionalism runs more toward gunfire and arson. |
The Sunni Tehreek said the burials of Abbas Qadri, Akram Qadri and Iftikhar Bhatti had been postponed until Thursday, when thousands of people are expected to turn out.
| That'll present a fine opportunity for another boom... |
The funerals of Hafiz Mohammed Taqi and Hanif Billo and of some of the other victims were held peacefully earlier.
| Nobody important attended, huh? |
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack. Jihadis are all out against President Musharraf, so they may be involved, said Haider, adding that Baloch rebels could also be on the list of suspects. Indian and Afghan involvement could not be ruled out, he added.
| I'd lean more toward the sectarian killers, myself. Brelvis aren't high on the totem pole of devoutness. Look to see what groups are in contention with Sunni Tehrik for control of their mosques (and the money flowing through them). The ST engages in periodic gang wars with the MQM, and also with the local Shia groups. They might want to check turban size and color, if that survived on the head. If the Afghans were going to boom somebody — and it's probably still too early for them to have a state-controlled setup to do so — I think they'd more likely boom the TNSM leadership, or Fazl, or Sami. And the Hindoos aren't really into suicide boomings as an arm of state policy. |
Gen Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz condemned the heinous act and ordered increased security at religious sites. The Sindh government announced a three-day mourning period. The government has set up three investigation committees to find the men behind the blast. One committee is headed by the Sindh IG, the second by the DIG (Investigation), and the third by a high court judge.
| The barn door will now be locked, to be quietly reopened in a month or two. |
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