14 injured: Second blast in two days spreads terror in Peshawar

Authorities don’t see link between the two assaults; could be a result of personal enmity .

PESHAWAR: Two kilogrammes of explosives packed in a ghee container exploded at 8:20 am in a market in Peshawar on Thursday, injuring 14 people.

The remote-controlled device went off outside Munir Khan’s shop in Jan Plaza, around the New Rampura Gate area. “Khan has enmity with some people from Tehkal area of the city. The police are looking into that aspect as well,” Peshawar police spokesperson Nisar Ahmed Khan told The Express Tribune.

Most of the injured were discharged soon after they received first aid, whereas five were still being provided treatment at the hospital till the filing of this report.

This was the second blast in two consecutive days to hit the provincial capital.

The official, referring to Wednesday’s blast that left 12 people wounded, said it was still unclear as to what device had been used to carry out the attack. The police only managed to recover ball bearings from the crime scene, nothing crucial to help identify the device, he said.

“In my opinion, it was probably a safety fuse that was used to detonate the explosives,” Nisar Khan said.

The injured from Thursday’s attack were identified as Nimatullah, Zar Sher, Tuti Gul, Tariq Khan, Nasrullah, Amjad Hussain, Nazir Mohammad, Yar Mohammad, Iqbal, Yahya, Asif , Shamshad, Amjad and Ayub.

Most of them were daily-wage workers sitting around waiting for customers.

The two bomb attacks contradicted city police chief Imtiaz Altaf’s assertions on Wednesday that the law and order situation in the city had been brought under control.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2011.