The Hindu : International : Suicide blast close to Premier's residence rattles authorities

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Saturday, May 28, 2005

International

International

Suicide blast close to Premier's residence rattles authorities

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Motive for attack on Sufi shrine unclear, say Pakistan police

— PHOTO: AP

SHATTERED LIVES: Relatives of victims mourn at the site of a suicide bombing on the outskirts of Islamabad on Friday.

ISLAMABAD: At least 19 persons were killed and scores of others injured this afternoon in a suspected suicide bombing at the famous Bari Imam Sufi shrine, 1 km from the official residence of Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in the national capital. (A well-known private ambulance service claimed that 50 persons were killed and 200 injured).

The incident so close to the high security zone sent the authorities into a tizzy and served as yet another reminder of the grim challenge from extremists faced by Pakistan. Till evening, police authorities were working on several theories on those behind the ghastly attack and their possible motives. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Crowd targeted

The target of the attack was clearly the hundreds of devotees of the shrine who had assembled on the occasion of the annual festival. The blast took place around 11.20 a.m. local time when people were listening to a speech by a local imam on the alleged desecration of the Koran by U.S. soldiers at Gauntanamo Bay.

According to eyewitness accounts, a person in the crowd detonated a powerful bomb. Tariq Ali, who survived the attack, told reporters that he saw a man throwing a bomb into a thick crowd of people, which subsequently exploded.

He said he saw several persons being tossed into air as the bomb exploded. Mr. Ali said the person who threw the bomb too was killed in the blast. The Bari Imam shrine attracts people of all sects and faiths on the religious festival held to mark the death anniversary of Shah Abdul Latif, a spiritual leader buried there.

Pakistan has witnessed several bomb blasts, particularly since President Pervez Musharraf joined the U.S.-led coalition in the so-called war against international terrorism in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Most of the incidents were suspected to be the handiwork of opponents of Gen. Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism. Some of the attacks are attributed to rivalries between the Shia minority and the Sunni majority.

Clerics' fatwa

Friday's bombing came barely 10 days after prominent clerics in the country issued an edict (fatwa) declaring such acts as anti-Islamic. The fatwa was the outcome of efforts of the Government in a bid to contain the wave of suicide bombings.

The impact of the blast was so powerful that the compound of the shrine was littered with body parts and the local television channels chose not to show the ghastly scenes. The Government declared emergency in the main hospitals at Rawalpindi and Islamabad to treat the injured.

After the blast, angry survivors clashed with police protesting lack of security at the shrine. Police used lathicharge and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid hinted at the possibility of local rivalry for control of the shrine behind the incident.

The blast coincided with the nation-wide rallies called by the alliance of six religious parties, Muttahida Majlis-e Amal, to protest the alleged desecration of the Koran by U.S. security personnel at Guantanamo Bay.

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