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At least 6 killed in bomb blast at Arambagh

WIRASAT HUSSNAIN

KARACHI: At least six people were killed and more than 22 injured when a bomb exploded on the crowded Aram Bagh Road, near furniture market, on Monday at about 7 p.m. The dead and the injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital by volunteers of the NGOs and Karachi Traffic Police. According to unconfirmed reports eight people were reported killed and more than 30 injured.

Deputy Commissioner, District South, Shoaib Siddiqui, said it was a home- made device of one kilogram fitted in a sugarcane crusher parked on the roadside. The explosion had done the maximum damage that it could have done. "It is regrettable," he added.

The sugarcane crusher, fitted on a pushcart, was lying idle for the last three days. "It was either because of cold weather or because the Bangladeshi owner of the crusher had abandoned the machine," said an eye witness attending to one of his relations admitted to the emergency ward of the Civil Hospital.

The dead were identified as Willayat Ali Shah, 35, s/o Abbasi, Abdul Jameel, 20, s/o Abdul Hakeem, Shazia, 14, daughter of Mohammed Ismail, and Peral Allahdad. Two bodies remained unidentified. Out of 22 injured, three were stated to be in critical condition.

Soon after the explosion and shifting of the dead and the injured to the Civil Hospital, emergency was declared in the hospital. Sindh Governor Azim Daudpota, accompanied by other civil and military officials, visited the hospital and ordered all possible help to the blast victims. He also announced compensation of Rs 100,000 each to the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 to Rs 30,000 to each injured victim.

The provincial health minister, Dr. Syed Mohib Rab, visited the hospital; at about 9:30 p.m. and instructed the hospital staff to provide all possible medical care to the injured people.

However, Aslam Bahi, founder president of the Khidmat-e-Insanyet (KI), an NGO, said the hospital had no life-saving medicines and other material needed in such cases. "They had no drips even," he added.

He said that his volunteers shifted the injured people from Arambagh to the hospital. Along with his volunteers, the traffic police shifted the victims to the hospital.

The doctors performing emergency duty and the medico legal officers (MLO) were all praise for the NGO's help.

Dr. Vijai Sha, enaesthetist, said all the life-saving medicines, blood and other necessary material were supplied by the KI.

Abdul Ghaffar Haqani of Haqani Chowk, a prominent social worker, said that it was a thunderous explosion which damaged window panes of the adjoining buildings. "One of my volunteers, Willayat Ali Shah, has also died in the explosion," he added.

He said that he, along with his volunteers, reached the site of the explosion within minutes and started rescue operations. "There was no police help, no ambulance from any hospital, the bomb disposal squad reached late by one hour."

He said almost all the rescue work was done either by the NGOs or by the individuals present on the scene. "The officials came according to their convenience."

Hospital sources said those dead had been badly hit in their chest or in the head. "The bodies are not mutilated and can be recognized easily. The injured are likely to stay in the hospital for at least three to four days except about ten people who are severely injured. Three are in critical state."

Deputy Convener of the Muttaheda Qaumi Movement and suspended senator, Aftab Ahmed Shaikh, who visited the victims of the blast, said that it was a conspiracy against the return of peace to the city of Hyderabad and Karachi. " In my opinion, it is a design of agencies who want to see a destabilized Karachi."

He said it was all planned against the MQM and they wanted to malign us.

The terrorists are after the peace and would do everything to hinder return of normalcy. "They are there to create terror and destroy peace which has returned to the city after a long spell of uncertainty."

He said, however, involvement of foreign hands could not be ruled out.

Shaikh was accompanied by other leaders of the MQM, including Khalid Bin Waleed and Abdul Qadir Lakhani.

No FIR was registered at the Aram Bagh Police station till our going to the press.