Bomb squad successfully defuses explosive inside pressure cooker

Terrorists aimed at targeting the police post in Rasheedabad, says police.

KARACHI: The Bomb Disposal Squad successfully defused a home-made bomb in Khawaja Ajmair Nagri on Monday.

The bomb, which could be operated through a remote control, had been planted near a police post in Rasheedabad, North Karachi. The experts from the squad explained that the bomb had been concealed in a pressure cooker. An improvised explosive device, seven kilogrammes of explosives, two detonators and two batteries had been used. The extension wire attached to the bomb would have aided in its explosion, said an official. The squad was, however, able to defuse it within 20 minutes.

Police officials said that terrorists aimed to target the police post in Rasheedabad. According to SHO Chaudhry Afzal, some labourers working on a construction site found the pressure cooker with wires connected to it at 8:45am. They informed the police officials who called the squad and evacuated the area.



DSP Chaudhry Akhtar explained that this particular police post had been set up a month ago to monitor the activities of terrorists in Manghopir, Sultanabad, Pakhtunabad and surrounding areas. The residents of Rasheedabad, who had pressurised the police into setting up the post had been receiving threats ever since it was established, he added. Police officials suspect that some members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, who were residing in the area and wanted to kill the officials deployed at the post, are responsible for the bomb, he added.

One of the experts from the bomb squad explained that anyone within 80 metres of the pressure cooker would have been killed if the bomb had exploded. Pressure cookers concealing bombs are commonly found in bomb blasts that occur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he added. He also mentioned that samples of the bomb had been sent to the forensics division of the police for examination.  A case has been registered against unidentified persons. Further investigation is underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2013.