PESHAWAR:
At least 11 people were killed and 15 others injured when a remote-controlled bomb ripped through a crowded market in Risalpur, a town in Nowshera district, on Thursday night.
The blast took place just outside a restaurant in the market, a police official said. The restaurant was close to Risalpur Chowk, within the limit of the town’s Cantonment. The police official told The Express Tribune that the remote-controlled device was attached to a bicycle. One of the injured was a policeman, said the official, adding that the casualty count may rise.
Nowshera police chief Akhtar Ali confirmed at least 10 fatalities and 15 people injured. He added that the bomb likely contained up to 10 kilogrammes of explosives. Police cordoned off the area after the blast. The injured were taken to hospitals in Nowshera and Peshawar.
The blast took place at Decent Restaurant and Fast Food, an establishment frequented by the people of the city for refreshments after iftar. Locals said the restaurant was also often visited by military personnel stationed at nearby bases.
Risalpur, a town of around 20,000 people, is home to the Pakistan Air Force Academy, the Military College of Engineering, the Pakistan Army Engineers Centre and the Military Engineering Services School.
Ali said that a large number of people were present at the site, when the blast took place at around 8:30 pm. At the time of the attack, there were a few police personnel at the restaurant, according to sources.
Nowshera, a city heavily dominated by military establishments, is just seven kilometres away and has been the target of Taliban militants in recent years.
Earlier this year, in June, a suicide attack on an army-run bakery killed more than 20 people and injured dozens of others in the Nowshera Cantonment.
Risalpur itself, however, had not been targeted before in a fatal attack. The only attack before this was on November 9, 2007, when three rocket-propelled grenades were fired by unidentified militants but landed in places that did not cause any damage to human life.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 26th, 2011.
COMMENTS (13)
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@ Amjad. You said , " The Indians have set up so many consulates..". Do you know , how many ? 10..50..100..150 ? I will tell you. Both India & Pakistan have 4 consulates each in Afganistan. Do not be a sheep that follows without reasoning.. Wake up before its too late. All the best.
@Atif:
there is no foreign conspiracy... it is Muslims openly killing Muslims in a country torn by internal issues
jihadi groups, housed in madrassas, are recruiting in the open in the capital city. two such recruiters approached me last week and tried to initiate a separation between myself and my family, so that that they can then introduce ideas of indoctrination. This happened outside the Sunday Bazaar, not too far from a police checkpoint. So it is enraging to see st^pid people in this country talk about "foreign hands" and some such nonsense, while all this is going on. They are the ones who probably would fall for the bullsh^t of these madrasa men.
From all these daily blasts one can only gather one thing that the loose borders on both India and Afghanistan sides have encouraged terrorism as the terrorist are flourishing in this bad economy where the local people who do not even have food to eat are given a blood bath by the terrorists who are are well fed, heavily armed and funded by the enemies of Pakistan. If the Army does not impose Martial law and curfew as an emergency soon . . . then the future of Pakistan is at stake. The bitter fact is that instead of democracy, terrorism and foreign espionage has taken root in Pakistan and it needs alert action by the Army soon. Very sad state of affairs.
In Pakistan, 40 million 5-18 year old Pakistanis are not enrolled in schools. This means that their future will be filled with darkness and then they will only resort to taking up arms. And when they take up arms and the law into their own hand, there will be a revolution. There will be a storm before calm is restored.
Pakistan is on the verge of collapse with a highly depleted human capital which is increasingly becoming a burden on the state of Pakistan. This has given rise to bereavement among the masses with 4 million new babies being born each year and there are no resources allocated to look after them. Maulvis say no to contraceptives because apparently "God will provide for the children" and that's outrageous because 60 million Pakistanis are malnourished.
Pakistan has done a pathetic job in developing not only human capital, but also in curbing the mullah/jihadi culture. Now you see the end product when teenagers simply blow themselves up, killing innocent men, women and children. This situation keeps getting critical by each passing day, but Pakistani leaders are still sleeping.
@epicurus: We all know by now that our people are dying because anti state agents working for the enemies of Pakistan are fighting against the state. There is no doubt that they are being defeated everywhere which is why all they can do is bomb innocent people in mosques, restaurants and schools. The days of these foreign criminals is numbered. We need to seal the border with Afghanistan so that foreign agencies cannot send their agents. The Indians have set up so many consulates there to cause trouble but look the people of Pakistan are becoming stronger and more united. Pakistan Zindabad.
Isn't War On Terror fruitful so far ?
Innocent Pakistanis being blown away by foreign hands. Why does all this happen under civillian leadership? Pakistan Army should be working along side with strong intelligence in each and every region as the enemy has spread out greatly in Pakistani cities. Pakistan must seal its borders at both ends with Afghanistan and India until it has absolutely good handle and security checks over its territories. Loose border will create foreign infiltrators leading to Urban warfare which has alreday arrived . . . but its never too late for Army to nip this in the bud now. The civillian leadership is young and inexperienced in this respect and needs Army's help side by side in order to stabalize until next elections.
atif said: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un Our people are dying and our people are called terrorists, and killed over the name of war on terrorism… Allah please help us and protect us from foreign conspirecy and hidden hands. … Amin".......... you forgot to add a few important words, "our people are dying and {our own people are killing them,hence our homegrown terrorists} and also our people are killed over the name of war on terrorism...... the day you guys learn to accept the truth which i mentioned in the braces, will be the day of islamic renaissance and peace in this world........... rip to the dead
We must join our hands together to fight the menace of terrorism from Pakistan.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un Our people are dying and our people are called terrorists, and killed over the name of war on terrorism... Allah please help us and protect us from foreign conspirecy and hidden hands. ... Amin