Bombs hurled: Aaj News, Nawa-i-Waqt offices attacked

Initial investigations conclude same group is involved in both incidents.

KARACHI:

Barely a month after the killings of three staffers of Express News by armed motorcyclists, the offices of Aaj News and Nawa-i-Waqt came under bomb attack on Monday evening.

Two employees of Aaj News were wounded while no loss of life and property was reported; the bomb lobbed at the Nawa-i-Waqt offices was discovered before it exploded.

A driver, Abdul Sattar and a security guard, Rasool Buksh, were wounded when at least two armed men riding a motorcycle lobbed some explosive material at the main entrance to Aaj News located near Guru Mandir in Karachi. CCTV footage from cameras installed at the office shows two young men clad in shalwar kameez throwing an explosive device before escaping. “Initially we thought it was a short circuit,” said Aaj News senior correspondent Noman Rafique while talking to The Express Tribune. “But CCTV footage later confirmed it was a bomb attack.”

Khan said the culprits approached the office from the Guru Mandir side and escaped towards Lasbella, adding that the injured persons were moved to a hospital and their condition is stable.

Similarly, the Nawa-i-Waqt office, located on main MA Jinnah Road – close to the Aaj News office – also came under attack; the bomb was discovered before its explosion. Staffers working in the building were immediately evacuated. Police and Rangers personnel also reached the site while a bomb disposal squad defused the bomb.

BDS experts say that both the bombs were IEDs. “The bombs were concealed in canes, and are commonly known as ‘cane bombs’. Each contained some 500 to 600 grammes of explosives including ball bearings and metallic pieces,” a BDS expert told The Express Tribune.

Police officials said that the same culprits were behind the attacks on both the offices.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2014.