Neelum valley: Bid to blow up shrine foiled
Police on Sunday foiled a bid to blow up a shrine in the Kundal Shahi area in Neelum Valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and seized hand grenades and explosives.
Neelum Valley Deputy Commissioner Hameed Kiyani told The Express Tribune that the police have seized 36 home-made hand grenades and other explosives from the courtyard of Syed Ghulam Rasool Shah shrine.
“It seems that the saboteurs wanted to create sectarian rift in the area,” Kiyani said adding that a probe has been ordered to trace the suspects who wanted to vitiate peace in the region. The shrine structure has recently been built by locals.
“The Kundal Shahi area has in the recent past witnessed some sectarian clashes and we are also investigating the issue on sectarian lines,” said the deputy commissioner.
Locals staged a protest demonstration against the incident. The protesters dispersed after the police registered a case against unknown miscreants.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2016.