Shikarpur blast: Suspect confesses to 2010 attack

SUKKUR:

Men arrested in connection with the imambargah bomb blast in Shikarpur have confessed to carrying out attacks on former MNA Dr Ibrahim Jatoi and another blast at the shrine of Hajan Shah Mari Waro. This was disclosed at a press conference held at the office of Shikarpur's SSP, Saqib Ismail Memon on Sunday night.

According to the SSP, one of the suspects, Khalil alias Sikandar Zehri, claimed that their network had been operating in the Shikarpur district since 2008. He said that they had been working with the Ustad Aslam group of Punjabi Taliban and other militant organisations, including the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

Khalil further told the police that Abdul Hakeem alias Peero Brohi was responsible for carrying out the attack on Jatoi in 2010. He also claimed that men from his group were behind the 2013 bomb blast at the Hajan Shah Mari Waro shrine which claimed four lives.

"The men we arrested have provided us with important information," said the SSP. "We are hopeful that more arrests will be made soon."

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2015.