Violence in the city: Two die, 10 hurt in hotel bombing

Police say premature to link attacks with extortionists.

KARACHI:

Four low-intensity blasts within a span of two days all targeting traders suggest extortionists in Karachi are up to something.

Two men died and at least 10 others were wounded in a remote-controlled explosion at a roadside restaurant in Landhi’s Muzzafarabad Colony, Quaidabad police said.

At around 5:15 in the evening, a young man left a bag near the footpath at the Ghareeb Nawaz Hotel that exploded shortly afterwards, according to eyewitnesses. The owner of the hotel, Sadiq Shah, and a police constable, Zahid Abdullah, died at the spot while two women, identified as Fatima and Haseena, among the 10 people injured in the attack. The victims were taken to Jinnah hospital.

Shah had been running the hotel from the last 30 years and lived in a house built next to the hotel. The slain policeman was posted at the Shah Latif police station. He was also the guard of Punjabi-Pakhtun Ittehad leader Sarwar Awan.



Bomb disposal experts concluded that around 3.5kg explosives were packed in a concrete block that also contained ball bearings and nut bolts.

Various banned outfits operate out of Quaidabad and its surrounding areas, police sources told The Express Tribune. A few militants were recently arrested in recent raids by Rangers and the attack may have been its retaliation. The main target may have been the hotel’s owner on suspicion of being a police informant.

“It is premature to link the bomb blast to extortionists, as we did not have any complaints,” said Malir SP Dr Najeeb Khan. “Maybe some important target was sitting at the hotel.”

Manghopir blasts

Earlier, two huge blasts within a space of four hours shook Mianwali Colony in Manghopir. Although the explosions caused no human casualties, eight shops and a number of vehicles were destroyed. The Manghopir bombs reportedly targeted two prominent transporters - Haji Rattas Khan and Haji Aurangzeb - for refusing to pay extortion money, Pirabad police said.

At 1:55am, a time bomb placed beside the pillar of a bakery on Street No. 5 in Mianwali Colony exploded. The bakery is owned by Haji Rattas, who said he had been receiving threats from extortionists continuously for the past three days. Three months ago, he received a call by extortionists to pay Rs20 million.

At least a kilogramme of explosives were used that left a one-foot-deep crater.

As things began to settle down, another loud bang shook the Mianwali Colony at around 6am. This time, the criminals targeted the house of another transporter, Haji Aurangzeb, who is also a former union councillor.

The attackers came on a motorcycle and lobbed a ball-like object at Aurangzeb’s house on Street No. 11. The bomb contained only 200 grammes of highly explosive substances similar to the ones seized from Manghopir before Ashura in Muharram. The transporter was also asked to pay up Rs5 million as “protection money” recently by extortionists, police said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2012.