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Man, who spotted first bomb a month ago, killed by second
Ismail had called in the police to report the bomb on August 13. On September 18, he fell victim to a bomb.
Security officials scan the site of a bomb explosion in Karachi on September 18, 2012. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI: On August 13, Ismail was the one who reported the presence of a suspected bomb near Dolmen Mall to the authorities. The bomb was defused and a disaster averted. On September 18, however, Ismail’s luck ran out and he was killed in another blast in the same area.
At 7:30 pm on September 18, the world came crashing down for a Dawoodi Bohra family in Hyderi market. Ismail had taken his one-year-old nephew, Shabbir Aun Ali, with him for a stroll outside. As he reached the shop of the popular Mooni Soup outlet, a powerful bomb planted by the roadside exploded.
Ismail and Shabbir were killed on the spot. Shabbir was the only child born to Aun Ali after 10 years of marriage. He is completely lost. He was heard saying, “I wish I were there instead of Shabbir,” to someone on the cell phone.
Everyone in the area knew Ismail, who made a living making school uniform ties. He was a social worker who loved humanity. He used to help out everyone in the area with whatever he could.
Abul Fazl Abbas’s white clothes were smeared with blood. He was the first one to reach the scene. He picked up the bodies of Ismail and Shabbir, which were later taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
“We shifted the victims in our own vehicles as the rescue volunteers, Edhi and Chippa, arrived later,” he said. “Ismail used to keep an eye on the surroundings and also sniffed out the bomb on August 13.” Only two days ago, the community members had been warned to be mindful of any suspicious activity and keep the neighbourhood clean, Abbas told The Express Tribune.
The bomb was planted on a motorcycle, according to the shopkeepers of Mooni Soup and Makati Sons and Tasbeeh Wale, located opposite to each other. Hassan Ali Makati said Ismail grew up in his arms. “My son and I were unloading merchandise from a rickshaw and had just bent down to pick up the goods when the bomb went off,” he said. “The window panes of our shop were shattered, and I believe if we had been standing upright, we would have been killed also.”
While most of the people did not believe the bomb meant to target the Dawoodi Bohras, the bomb went off when most people were returning from prayers at the community hall.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2012.
Reader Comments (27)
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sad…..
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It is a well known Bohra area, looks like they were the target. I wouldn’t be surprised if the attackers are foreign backed and trying to rip the fabric of society.
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No words to express…….
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No protests for these innocent people im sure.
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isnt it ironic!!!
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what?? so now Bohra community is the target?
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The country is burning and we are worried about “fahashi”. Pathetic!Recommend
OMG!! Ismail Uncle Tie!! I remember him.. always smiling and ready to help everyone.. May he be resting in peace…
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i simply cant buy the idea, that none of our religous parties has ever staged any public demonstration against such acts. they go nuts over anti-islamic films, cartoons etc. but to my understanding taking innocent lives of muslims brothers & sisters is far worse than those demeaning acts (whose sole purpose is to instigate) & they are getting better at it day after day.
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How long will our people stand by the side supporting extremism?
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If not others, but definitely this(Terror Act) is not done by a Muslim. The whole Muslim world is protesting on blasphemy and no Muslim will ever spare time(even the most extremist) to do such terror act..
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target killing….bomb blast…..this was not the fate of this city…..Ya Allah reham ferma
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Bad luck, sounds like death was chasing him, final destination stuff.
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extremely tragic . My heart goes out to victims . Life is so uncertain .
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I don’t think they will be muslims or extremist groups. This could a planned attack to start a new front with a respectable and innocent society.This society is the back bone of north nazimabad because of their discipline and hard working ability. All people living their are skilled workers and are never known to do any harm to the area. Especially that soup shop is a famous one along with Montina ice cream and big hardware market.
In my opinion this attack is done to disturb the peace of North nazimabad and to create differences between the different communities living happily in this area.
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We lost 2 relatives to this Bomb Blast. A wife and a Husband both died from this blast. Sunni Muslims on there way to the Dentist when bomb exploded. It is a tragedy no where in Karachi is it safe to walk or go too, seriously. One never thinks a close family relative would be a victim of terrorism but sure enough it happens daily. Tell your loved ones that you love them daily.
The Edhi Morgue is even a worst site or place to visit Pray that one never has to ever go there to identify your relatives. Something needs to be done about this law and order situation.Recommend
rest in peace all those who were killed allah bless them who all are suffering ameen.allah bless pakistan and its people
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I knw Ismail i knw the person used to sit at main gate of burhan compound, he was such a lovely buddy May Allah Rest his soul in Peace (ameen)
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Inna Lilahi wa Inna Elahi Rajeoon. May Allah SWT rest their souls in peace and give them Jannat and grant sabr to their families. The fanatics are dragging Pakistan towards destruction. Unless the ordinary man in the street sees this and starts rejecting the extremists, there is no turning back.
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And we are busy protesting a useless film…i guess we have a long way to go as a nation
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@Muhammad A: please cn u let me know the full names of ur relatives? it was my sister’s clnc and she has been reciving calls saying husband and wife were heading to her clnc bt culdnt gt the names! please i ll b glad if u provide me the names!
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I don’t think this was an attack on any particular sect.. ony the aftermath of a horrific tragedy. This being said, my heart goes out to all the victims, and their families. May Ismail and Shabbir rest in peace.
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@Syed S to keep the families identity private I won’t be releasing that information on a public platform but if you wish you can e-mail me at [email protected] and i’ll provide there names to you. BTW since they were on there way to the dentist office I am assuming they had an appointment with the receptionist and there names are in the register for that time the bomb exploded.
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:(,… knew them as a family of my own,cant get over the fact,that they r no more,…shaken badly :(….severity of this blast was soo devastated,living thousands of miles away, has still its piercing effect on my heart :(,….my condolences n sympathy to everyone effected by this drastic event
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Guys I have to add something else which maybe would be an entire different story all together but somebody needs to shed some light on this. The Lady who died was a very close relative of mines and when we got to the body at the Hospital to identify her she had no Jewelery and nothing of value on her, somebody stole them. Anyways we don’t care about the Jewelery but I’m sure this is happening with everybody. Alhamdulilah both husband and wife were laid to rest on wed the following day around 10:45am.
In my opinion that brother Ismail is a Hero and should be honored formally. He saved many lives on the first bomb attempt. We salute you Ismail!
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ismail we will not forget u yar and ever,, infact you are gone by body but you will be always in our heart..haidery has lost his backbone really he was a hardworking and a best buddy to any person living in that area whether they know them or not he always used to help them. whole society is sad and in a deep grief.for the other persons too and also a little girl and a 8months old boy…may their soul rest in peace..
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we fight against all the world for islam i.e against videos n rumors against islam!!…….. but actually where do we stand? we are people of a country who creates disaster for itself on these things. Target killing bomb blast strikes loot these things are common in our society… our such behaviour will end up in a civil war. Fights against religious matter is the worst thing to fight.
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