‘Pir Wadhai, Saddar blasts similar’

Police on Saturday found stark similarities between Friday’s bomb attack at the Pir Wadhai bus stand and another bomb attack in Saddar earlier in the year.

Initial investigations into the probe showed that Friday’s bomb attack, in which a local resident was killed and seven others were injured, bore an uncanny resemblance to another bomb attack in the city a few months ago.

On June 12, one person was killed and 15 others, including two children, sustained injuries when explosives attached to an electricity pole in the Saddar Bazaar area blew up.

Officials said that the weight of explosives used in both attacks was almost the same. Moreover, the same kinds of improvised explosive devices were used in the two attacks.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials collected some 57 pieces of evidence from the site of the blast, including iron pieces, fragments of the bomb, footwear, destroyed motorbikes, and rickshaws among others.

Officials added that the evidence recovered from the crime scene will be sent to a forensic laboratory.

Further, the engine and chassis numbers of the tri-wheeler Qingqi have been referred to the excise department by the investigation team to trace the real owner of the motorcycle-rickshaw used in the attack.

Sources told The Express Tribune, that investigators are also compiling data of people working at shops and hotels around the bus stand. Further, efforts to obtain video footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras or other recording devices is underway.

Meanwhile, the CTD registered a first information report (FIR) for the terror attack at the Pir Wadhai bus stand against unidentified terrorists. Sections for murder, attempt to murder, possessing explosive material, and others have been included in the complaint.

In the June attack, security and investigation agencies had said that they had found evidence of Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing's (RAW) involvement in the attack.

Further, sources in CTD told The Express Tribune that a high-level team has been formed comprising investigation experts to investigate the attack. The team will collaborate with other institutions and investigators to trace the terrorists.

Separately, the body of the sole martyr of the attack, local resident Afzal Khan, has been handed over to his family after completing an autopsy.

Further, those injured in the blast have been discharged from the hospital as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2020.