Darra bazaar bombing: Victims of yet another blast recapitulate trauma

Out of the 33 wounded, 13 have been discharged from Lady Reading Hospital.

PESHAWAR:

Blast victims have become a familiar sight at Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar, bearing constant reminder that the war against militancy is not yet over.

Muhammad Tahir, 40, and his two sons, 14-year-old Muhammad Talha and 10-year-old Ismail were admitted to LRH after they were injured in the suicide blast in Darra Adam Khel on Saturday. The explosion in the market killed 13 people and injured 33 more, including children.

Tahir and his family were visiting Darra Adam Khel from Bahawalpur to attend an urs at a Sufi shrine that had begun on Friday. He was unaware of the extent of danger in the region and the threats posed by militants. “My wife did not want us to go and was unhappy that I took our two sons along for the urs,” Tahir said. He now wishes that he had listened to his wife.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Tahir said that he and his sons were buying fruit from a vendor in the bazaar when the explosion took place. He recalled gory images from yesterday, saying that  injured people everywhere crying for help. “Everyone began searching for their relatives,” he said adding that he fell unconscious and still did not know who brought him to the hospital.

Dr. Mukhtar at the LRH said that out of those in hospital, three were in critical conditions and were being kept in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Another victim who recalls the horror was Farzand Ali, a student, also admitted in LRH. “After the blast it became extremely dusty and there was smoke everywhere,” he said, “I could not see anyone.” He said he feels lucky now, considering others that were lying on the ground dead or severely injured.

There were no ambulances there at the time of the blast and people were carrying the injured on their shoulders to the local hospital in Darra Adam Khel. However, an eyewitness to the chaos at the hospital, Muhammad Shahid, said no proper facilities were available at the medical institution to help those who were seriously injured.

Hamid Khan, a shopkeeper in the bazaar, said his shop was entirely destroyed in the blast and his legs were also fractured. “I don’t know how I will start my business again because I have no money now,” he said. Most shopkeepers in Darra Bazaar are volunteers of the peace militia. Shahid suspected them to be the main target of the attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2012.