BHC starts probe into suicide attack

BHC begins probe into the suicide attack on the al Quds rally in Quetta.

QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Friday started a probe into the suicide attack on the al Quds rally in Mezan Chowk of Quetta, which took place on September 3 and claimed the lives of 68 people, while injuring more than 150.

The BHC tribunal, comprising the  Chief Justice Balochistan High Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa, recorded the statements of representatives of the media, the Frontier Corps (FC) and police personnel on the first day.

It also asked the head of Imamia Student Organisation Amir Abbas and the Ulema who were leading the procession, to appear before the court in the next hearing. The court also sought a comprehensive report from the police about the explosive material used in previous blasts and suicide attacks which took place earlier in the country.

The police produced the footage taken by CCTV and the media including 25 photographs of the incident. They also said that no one had identified the head of the suicide bomber, which according to them was recovered 43 feet away from the blast site.

Police said that banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi had claimed responsibility for the blast. Further investigations are being carried out by the CID in this regard.

Colonel Saifullah of the FC informed the court that two FC vehicles had been set on fire and a FC official was injured in the firing, which followed the blast.

“The Interior Ministry had not asked the FC to provide security to the procession,” he said.

The tribunal told the police to present the photograph of the head of the suspected suicide bomber to all police stations, as well as publish it in newspapers. The hearing was adjourned till September 21.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2010.