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Pakistan blast probe at a crucial stage: Minister

B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed that the explosion at a park in Karachi on Tuesday which killed 56 persons and injured scores of people was the handiwork of unidentified suicide bombers.

Information and Broadcasting Minister, Shaikh Rashid Ahmed told the media here that investigation agencies have found two heads, which are supposed to be of the suicide attackers involved in Nishtar Park tragedy.

He claimed that the investigations on the incident have reached a "crucial stage" and hopefully the investigation agencies would soon find clues about the culprits involved in the bombing.

Situation under control

Investigators are also working about "foreign involvement" in the incident, he further said. Mr. Rashid said that overall law and order situation was under control and high security alert has been declared in the country.

Separately in Karachi a member of coordination committee of Sunni Tahrik, Shahid Ghouri at a press conference issued an ultimatum of 48 hours to the Government to arrest culprits involved in the explosion and demanded death sentence for those involved in Nishtar Park carnage.

He announced that funeral prayers of ten activists and central leaders of Sunni Tahrik (ST) killed in Nishtar Park tragedy would be offered on Thursday. Mr. Ghouri said a caretaker committee of Sunni Tahrik has been set up for handling urgent matters of the party.

He said that the government of Sindh has completely failed to maintain peace in the province. Mr. Ghouri expressed dissatisfaction over provincial government investigations of the incident and demanded investigations under supervision of the agencies.

In another development former Prime Minister and chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Benazir Bhutto has condemned the bomb blast as "an act of barbarism that no words are strong enough to condemn."

In a statement the former Prime Minister said that no religion condoned such barbarism and therefore those who perpetrated this heinous act are criminals of the worst kind deserving no mercy or leniency.

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