Targeting The Mqm: Four killed, 40 injured in blast

Targeting The Mqm: Four killed, 40 injured in blast By Faraz Khan Published: January 2, 2013 Officials of bomb disposal squad collecting evidence from the site of the blast. PHOTO: APP KARACHI: At least four people were killed and over 40 injured on Tuesday evening when a powerful bomb went off in Karachi’s Federal B Area, less than half a kilometre from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) headquarters Nine-Zero. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the blast that took place soon after the conclusion of a rally organised by the MQM and Minhaj-ul-Quran International at Jinnah Ground in Azizabad. The MQM announced a day of mourning today (Wednesday). The bomb attack occurred around 7pm, when participants of the “Safar-e-Inqilab-e-Pakistan” rally were boarding their buses to go back home. It damaged over half a dozen buses and coaches and smashed the windows of dozens of vehicles. Several vehicles driving past the nearby Shara-e-Pakistan thoroughfare bumped into each other due to the panic caused by the explosion. Scores of MQM workers reached the site after the blast, and shouted slogans against extremism. Most of the victims belonged to MQM’s Orangi Town Sector. A witness, who was also an MQM activist on security duty at the time, told The Express Tribune that there was no police or Rangers around for protection. “As usual, we were handling the security ourselves, but our focus is normally on making sure the buses get parked and traffic control,” Abdul Aleem said. The explosives were planted in a motorcycle near the buses parked for the pick and drop service. A Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) official told The Express Tribune that around two kilogrammes of explosives were used in the bomb planted on a motorcycle. “Ball bearings were also used to maximise casualties – fortunately, the motorcycle was parked between two buses … if they weren’t parked there the damage would have been far more extensive,” he added. The BDS member also said that the evidence collected from the blast site suggested that it was remotely-triggered bomb and that the person who detonated it was present within a 100 metres distance. TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for the attack. In a phone call to Peshawar-based journalists, he warned that it was “only the start” and that “more attacks will follow”. No case had been registered till the filing of this report. Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2013. ============================ بدھ, 2 جنوری 2013 اسٹاف رپورٹ کراچی: ایم کیوایم اورتحریک منہاج القرآن کے مشترکہ جلسے کے بعد دہشت گردوں نے عائشہ منزل کے قریب واپس جانے والے کارکنوں کی بس کو موٹرسائیکل میں نصب بم سے نشانہ بنایا۔۔۔۔ جس سے چارافراد موت کی نیند سوگئے۔۔۔۔۔ جبکہ پچاس سے زائد زخمی ہیں۔ سماء کو دھماکے کی سی سی ٹی وی فوٹیج مل گئی ہے۔ کراچی میں نئے سال کے پہلے دن ہی دہشت گردوں نے بیگناہوں کے خون سے اپنے ہاتھ رنگ لئے۔ قاتلوں نے جناح گراؤنڈ عزیزآباد میں ایم کیوایم اورتحریک منہاج القرآن کے مشترکہ جلسے کے بعد واپس جانے والے لوگوں کی بس کو شاہراہ پاکستان پرعائشہ منزل کی فرنیچرمارکیٹ کے قریب نشانہ بنایا۔ دہشت گردوں نے موٹرسائیکل میں نصب بم ۔۔۔۔ اس وقت زورداردھماکے سے اڑا دیا جب جلسے سے واپس جانے والے وہاں بس میں سوار ہورہے تھے۔ سماء کو دھماکے کی سی سی ٹی وی فوٹیج مل گئی ہے جس میں دیکھا جاسکتا ہے کہ دھماکے بعد وہاں افراتفری مچ گئی۔۔۔ اورلوگ فوخ زدہ ہوکر محفوظ مقام کی تلاش میں قریبی واقع سی این جی اسٹیشن میں داخل ہورہے ہیں۔۔ جبکہ کچھ لوگ اپنی گاڑیوں اورموٹرسائیکلوں سمیت مجمع کو چیرتے ہوئے اندرآرہے ہیں۔ دھماکا جس موٹر سائیکل میں نصب تھا اس کے پرخچے اڑ گئے ۔۔۔۔ جبکہ قریب کھڑی موٹرسائیکل اور8 بسوں کو بھی نقصان پہنچا۔ پولیس اورقانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں نے دھماکے کی تحقیقات شروع کردی ہے۔ =================== Sidelined?: Altaf-Qadri friendship irks PPP By Hafeez Tunio Published: January 2, 2013 Soon after MQM-MQI rally addressed by Qadri, Altaf Hussain, PPP leaders held meeting with President Zardari. PHOTO: FILE KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) support for the “million-man march” being organised by Minhajul Quran International (MQI) seems to have had a direct impact on the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Signs of anger and frustration surfaced on Tuesday as PPP leaders suggested to party co-chairman President Asif Ali Zardari to revisit the controversial Sindh Peoples Local Government System 2012. Sources in the Pakistan Peoples Party told The Express Tribune that soon after the MQM-MQI rally, which was addressed by Tahirul Qadri and Altaf Hussain, PPP leaders held a meeting with President Zardari. The meeting was followed by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s visit to Bilawal House where the president and co-PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also present. Sources revealed that the president asked PPP leaders to go ahead with the amendments and pursue the enraged Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F)leadership, Sindhi nationalists and other groups. All Sindhi nationalist parties have already announced that they will not participate in Qadri’s long march. Sources said that soon after the meeting, the Sindh chief minister directed law and local government departments to look into the matter and start “homework” on the local government system again. However, sources said that the final decision will be made after the long march. A senior official in the law department said that they had been given directives to revisit the local government law following the Supreme Court’s remarks in the case. Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2013. Read more: TahirulQadri ====================== ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has strongly condemned the killing of Javed Memon, a cousin of Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, who was shot dead in SITE Town area of Karachi by unknown assailants on Wednesday. Expressing his deep shock and sorrow over the incident, the President and PM directed the concerned authorities to take the culprits to task at the earliest. They prayed for the departed soul and the bereaved family. -- SAMAA ===================