Johar bomb blast FIR registered in CTD

BDS report says blast caused by IED

KARACHI: An FIR on Gulistan-e-Johar bomb blast was registered on behalf of the state in the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) early Sunday morning. The case was registered under sections of Anti-terrorism Act relating to explosives and attempt to murder. The FIR says that eight persons were injured in the blast while the accused are mentioned as unidentified.

The explosion took place at a Mehfil-e-Milad, organised by Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan (MQM-P) near Perfume Chowk on Saturday night.



According to the FIR, the police helpline 15 received a complaint about the blast at 12:10pm after which police officials reached the scene of incident. It further reads that unidentified terrorists placed explosive material outside the tent on service road.

The eight injured included Muhammad Shehzad, son of Noor Muhammad, Faizan, son of Ibrahim, Hira, wife of Shakeel, Shan, son of Azeem, Hassan Zaman, son of Asif Zaman, Syed Marghoob and Syed Basit, sons of Syed Riyasatullah, who left the hospital after medical treatment. Shehriyar, son of Aslam, is still admitted in ICU. Case investigation has been handed over to CTD.

BDS report

Meanwhile, the bomb disposal squad's (BDS) investigation report on the blast revealed that the explosion was not caused by cracker but rather an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) connected to a locally made bomb.

It says that approximately 250 to 300 grams of explosive material was used in the blast. However, ball bearings were not used. Further investigation is underway and the bomb disposal squad visited the site on Saturday to collect samples that have been sent to a forensic laboratory. These include plastic and concrete found from the place of incident that have been sealed and handed over to sub-inspector Jawed Akhter.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2018.