BDS defuses two bombs in Orangi and Steel Town

Police allege that the TTP was responsible for planting one of the two bombs.

KARACHI: Two major catastrophes were averted, and many innocent lives saved, as members of the Bomb Disposal Squad defused two remote-controlled bombs in Orangi Town and Steel Town on the first day of the year. Police blamed the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for planting the first bomb outside the house of a political party activist in Orangi.

Residents of Bukhari Colony in Orangi Town informed the police after they found a bomb wrapped inside a plastic bag outside a house in the area. A contingent of law enforcers then reached the place and cordoned off the area. Residents of nearby houses were evacuated, while BDS experts were called in to inspect the device. BDS officials defused the locally made bomb weighed, which they said weighed around two kilogrammes and was connected to four batteries and circuit wires. Police officials observed that as the bomb was placed in a congested residential area, many lives would have been lost if it had exploded.

Law enforcers as well as sources within the family that resides in the house accused TTP militants of planting the bomb. Family sources said that TTP members had been demanding them to pay Rs2 million in extortion. “[The culprits] had warned the family of dire consequences if they did not pay the money,” said a person with close ties to the family.



DSP Zahid Hussain confirmed that the TTP was involved in the attempt, but added that police had yet to figure their motive. The house belongs to an Awami National Party activist, who is wanted in multiple target killing cases, informed Hussain. However, the activist does not reside in the house, which is now occupied by his family.

The police official added that TPP militants have targeted ANP members in the past, and they are also involved in extorting money from the people. Hussain also said that the culprits would also have hoped to further stoke ethnic strife in the area, in addition to worsening the law and order situation.

The second remote controlled bomb was found near the Ghaggar railway crossing in Steel Town. SHO Haroon Korai said that residents of the area had alerted the police about the presence of the device. BDS officials were called in, who managed to defuse the bomb.

Korai said that law enforcers had yet to determine the motive behind the incident, but suggested that the culprits might have wanted to hit the Business Train, which was scheduled to travel on the main railway line in the area.

The train was ordered to stop after the bomb was discovered, said Korai.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2013.