For the record: ‘G-B governor not target of bomb’

GILGIT: Ghizer DC Rai Manzoor on Saturday cast aside speculation about Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Governor Pir Karam Ali Shah being the target of an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along a roadside in the district a day earlier. The bomb disposal unit (BDU) defused an eight-kilogramme bomb fitted inside a water cooler in Sipli. The cooler was placed along a road leading to the governor’s residence. Manzoor, however, said the bomb was not connected to a wireless remote and hence the governor’s motorcade which frequents the route was an unlikely target of the terror bid. “The bomb wasn’t connected to a remote-controlled device, it is thus unfair to establish a link with the governor’s motorcade,” he maintained. Police reached the spot at 8am on Friday. The road remained cordoned off until the BDU defused the explosive at around 12:30pm. A security official privy to the investigation said miscreants were probably transporting the bomb elsewhere, but left it on the deserted road due to heightened security at checkpoints. A case has been registered with Ghizer police and further investigation is under way.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2015.