Deadly matters: Death toll from Gracy Lane blast rises to four

CM announces Rs10m compensation for martyred police officers.

RAWALPINDI:

The death toll from the Gracy Lane bomb blast on Tuesday has increased to 4, as a police inspector succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday morning.

Four people including Airport Police Station House Officer Inspector Rabnawaz and Sub-Inspector Amanat Ali were killed when a suicide bomber blew up outside of Asna Ashari Imambargah in the heavily-guarded Gracy Lane area. The bomber was stopped by the police for a security check, whereupon he blew up himself. The two police officials and two passersby were seriously injured and rushed to Benazir Bhutto Hospital. The other three victims died soon after being admitted, while Rabnawaz died a few hours later.

Funerals for all four victims were held here on Wednesday. The funerals of the two police officials were offered at Police Lines, while prayers for the two civilians were held at the Gracy Lane imambargah.

Inspector Rabnawaz, who hailed from Mandra, joined the police force in 1989 as an assistant sub inspector, while Sub Inspector Amanat was a native of Okara who had worked his way up since joining as a constable in 1979.  The bodies of the two other victims — Ghulam Shabbir and Waseem Zaidi — have been sent to their hometowns for burial.

The Police Lines funeral was attended by provincial minister Raja Ishfaq Sarwar, Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Akhtar Umar Hayat Lalika, Rawalpindi Commissioner Khalid Masood and other senior officers, notables and a large number of police officials.

Sarwar paid a touching tributes to the police officials killed in the line of duty. He commended their extraordinary courage in stopping the attacker from entering the Imambargah, where a Majlis was underway. In a show of solidarity with the policemen’s families, he announced compensation of Rs10 million each and houses for the heirs on behalf of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

CPO Lalika said the slain policemen are the pride of the police department. “They have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, and these sacrifices would be written in golden words in police history.”

Addressing a press conference, representatives of the Shia Ulema Council announced a protest demonstration across the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad against the bomb blast at Gracy Lane Imambargah. Allama Arif Hussain Wahidi condemned the suicide attack and demanded that the government take action against the terrorist network targeting worship places.  To a query, he answered that despite security threats, chehlum processions will carry on as normal across Rawalpindi district.

Later, a meeting of the divisional peace committee chaired by Raja Ishfaq Sarwar was held at the commissioner’s office. The attendees included religious scholars from various schools of thought and senior police and administration officials. During the meeting, it was decided that all religious scholars will focus on interfaith harmony in their Friday sermons.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2013.