In the aftermath of the Sabzi Mandi blast

There will be foolproof security. Every victim has been compensated. We are about to apprehend the ‘real’ culprits. The same old statements have followed the Sabzi Mandi attack on April 9.

One week after fruit and vegetable market blast, which claimed 24 lives and left over 120 injured, State Minister Balighur Rehman distributed compensation cheques among some of the injured admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences while promising all the victims would be compensated soon. On the very same day, the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration claimed that it had forwarded an estimated amount of Rs35 million to the interior ministry required to make ‘sufficient’ security arrangements at the vegetable market.

Besides distributing cheques amongst some of the victims by a state minister, the rest are mere claims made by the top officials of different government departments. The police have made little progress in following up as well. The Station House Office of Sabzi Mandi Police Station Asjid Mehmood says the police are still investigating the case and till date there is no significant development worth sharing.

“We are working on different leads. But we found nothing substantial yet,” Mehmood said talking to The Express Tribune.  The officer said that all the persons including Afghan refugees and others caught on suspicion were also released after being found innocent. “None of them were found suspicious upon investigation,” Mehmood added.

It’s worth remembering that on the day and a day after the blast the Sabzi Mandi police station had claimed it had taken into custody some 30 suspects from the site of the explosion and the surrounding areas during the search operation. While when it comes to claims of ‘enhanced’ security arrangements at the site, only a few police personnel are deputed at the market. “The number is decreasing with every passing day,” says Zakir Ali who works as loader at the market.

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Mujahid Sherdil also corroborated this fact, saying currently increased number of police personnel at the market was the only security measure taken in the aftermath of the blast. However, he said Rs35 million is sought from the Interior Ministry to make sufficient security arrangements around the market.

The plan, forwarded to the Ministry of Interior, covers construction of a nine-foot high wall around 50 acres of market land, installation of 15 CCTV cameras, four walkthrough gates, and installation of barbed wire along the boundary wall. One wonders how ‘foolproof’ these measures will prove to be in future. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2014.