10 Shias shot dead in mosque attack while praying in Rawalpindi
26-02-2002
RAWALPINDI, Feb 26: Ten people were shot dead and 16 others critically injured in a sectarian-related terrorism here on Tuesday, hospital and police sources told Dawn.
The hospital authorities feared that the death toll may rise as the condition of around four injured was serious.
The injured and the dead were taken to the Holy Family Hospital and later some of them were removed to the Rawalpindi General Hospital.
The dead have been identified as Hayat, Mohammad Yunus, Liaquat Ali, Abdur Raheem, Gulzar Husain, Ghulam Haider, Khawaja Muneer Ali, Kashif, Kamran and Abdul Ali.
The injured are: Sultan Hussain, Sadiq Raza, Ahsan Naqvi, Khawaja Zaheer, Romal, Hani Khan, Zaki Haider, Ansar, Akhund Agha, Malik Jawad, Anjum, Anjum Abbas, Anwar Ali, Imran, Abdul Aleem and Iftikhar.
According to the eyewitnesses, three terrorists on a motorcycle came outside Shah-i-Najaf mosque, in Khayaban-i-Sir Syed, sector 4, when the Maghrib prayers were being offered. Two of the assailants walked into the mosque and locked the door from inside and the third one stood outside.
"The two men, wearing shalwar kameez, apparently in their 20s, first started hurling abuses and then sprayed bullets on the Namazis," Shabir Zaki one of the injured told Dawn. Another eyewitness said one of the attackers fired shots at the worshippers while the other loaded the empty gun and continued targeting.
One of the injured, describing from the hospital bed the appearance of the assailants, said they were fair coloured and well-built and approximately five-and-a-half feet high. They were having well-trimmed beards, he added.
As soon as the shooting started, the Namazis, who were around 40 in number, fell on the ground and their screams and groaning could be heard loudly, an eyewitness said.
"It was a horrible scene, bodies were lying in a pool of blood as I rushed to switch on the public address system of the mosque to seek the help of the neighbours," Mr Zaki, in charge of the mosque said.
The private guard of the mosque, who was supposed to be on duty, was himself saying prayers and was killed in the attack.
Moving scenes were witnessed in the hospital as the heirs came to identify the bodies of the victims.
The charged heirs of the deceased and injured who had gathered in a large number outside the emergency ward of the HFH, chanted slogans against the government and accused the police and district administration of not making adequate preventive measures that led to the massacre. They said the administration had refused to allow them to construct a boundary wall around the mosque, which could have prevented the incident.
Police guards had been removed from the city's worship places few days back.
The newly-appointed Rawalpindi Senior Superintendent of Police, Morawat Shah, said it was almost impossible to depute police guards at each and every mosque and Imambargah. "We cannot term it police negligence," the SSP said.
Rawalpindi Range Deputy Inspector-General of Police Fareed Nawaz said the killing appeared to be sectarian motivated, and it was most probable that the killers had fled to neighbouring Islamabad. "They might have crossed over to Islamabad. We have alerted the federal capital administration in this connection and have asked them to keep an eye on suspicious persons," the DIG further said.
After a session with the commander of the 111 brigade, Brig Shafquat Ahmed, the DIG said they had decided to conduct raids at the places of known sectarian activists to track down the killers. But Brig Shafquat, who had been monitoring police performance, refused to comment on the gory incident.
He ruled out the possibility of calling in troops for maintaining law and order, and said their role would only be limited to the investigation side of the tragedy.
The weapon used in the attack has been identified by the police as Kalashnikov. However, no arrest had been made by the police till the filing of this report.
It was the first major attack of this kind since President Pervez Musharraf announced a crackdown on extremist and sectarian groups last month.
The IG of Punjab Police, announced Rs500,000 reward for giving information about the assailants of the incident.
President shocked over sectarian killings
ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: Condemning the grisly act of firing on Tuesday in a Pir Wadhai mosque, President Gen Pervez Musharraf has directed the Punjab and federal governments to jointly investigate the incident, and submit a report forthwith.
Initial reports stated that nine persons were killed, and eight-nine others were injured, when two unknown assailants riding a motorcycle opened indiscriminate fire on Shah-i-Najaf Mosque in Rawalpindi.
Taking a serious notice of the incident, the president expressed his shock and grief.
He has condoled with the bereaved families, and asked administration to ensure proper medical care of those wounded.
Mr Musharraf said the groups opposed to the government's policy of fight against terrorism were out to detract it from pursuing the plan vigorously. He reiterated that the government would continue with its firm resolve to root out terrorism, and curb extremism from the society. Such ghastly acts, he said, would only renew the resolve of the government and the people of Pakistan in this respect. "Those responsible would be unearthed and given exemplary punishment," he added.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf said that the criminals would be dealt with iron hands and directed the authorities concerned to leave no stone unturned to track down the culprits.-APP
Death toll in mosque attack rises to 11
RAWALPINDI, Feb 27: The death toll in Tuesday's terrorist attack on a mosque in Khayaban-i-Sir Syed rose to 11 on Wednesday. Malik Jawad died of his injuries early on Wednesday, the hospital authorities said.
They feared that the death toll might further increase as three of the injured were still in serious condition. Seven of the killed were laid to rest a few yards from the mosque where the massacre took place during Maghrib prayers. The bodies of four other victims, including an Afghan national, were sent to their native towns for burial.
Hundreds of mourners turned up at Shah-i-Najaf Mosque to take part in the final rites of the victims of the worst ever "terrorist attack" in Rawalpindi. Tension further mounted Wednesday morning when the relatives of the victims insisted on burying their dead outside the mosque where they had been killed.
The district administration initially did not allow the burial at the proposed site and deployed armed policemen atop the houses surrounding the mosque. However, sensing the gravity of the situation, they removed the armed police personnel, averting a potential show down with the angry relatives of the victims.
Meanwhile, the police swooped on the members of religious groups, and claimed that the terrorists involved in the attack would be arrested within three days.
The police have so far arrested 18 people, most of whom were activists of the banned extremist outfits, and started investigations. Talking to reporters, the inspector-general of the Punjab police, Malik Asif Hayat, said the police had failed to make any positive breakthrough despite the passage of 24 hours.
He also assured the journalists that his department was expecting some concrete results within the next two to three days. The IGP, who rushed to Rawalpindi Tuesday night, termed the incident as 'terrorism', and said that elements, associated with the banned religious groups, within the country as well as from across the border could be behind the incident.
Mr Hayat said the police was also looking into the possible involvement of Sheikh Omar's accomplices, who might be trying to pressurize the government on the issue of his extradition to the US. There is also a possibility that the veterans of the Afghan Jihad may also have been involved in the incident, he said.
Asked if he saw any link between the incident and the Indian prime minister Vajpayee's threat, he said, "we are first focussing on tracking down local elements involved in the incident." Foreign involvement would be looked into after this, he added.
To a question, the IGP ruled out any link of the activists of religious groups who had been released from jails on the eve of Eidul Azha. He said they had been released after carefully examining their background. He said troops would be deployed at mosques and Imambargahs during Moharram.
Punjab Health Minister Prof (Dr) Mehmood Ahmad Chaudhry visited the Holy Family Hospital and inquired about the injured persons. He also discussed with the doctors about their condition and the treatment being offered to them.
Talking to reporters, he said, the incident needed to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We have to look into our society for the possible causes due to which these terrorists are allowed to go scot free, he said.
Punjab Law Minister Khalid Ranjha also visited the hospital to inquire about the victims. Talking to reporters at the hospital, he said, the government was fully committed to bring the terrorists to book and would leave no stone unturned in its efforts.
Corps Commander Rawalpindi Lt-Gen Syed Arif Hassan also visited the hospital. The hospital premises were sealed by his security staff and even the ambulances carrying patients were not allowed to enter the hospital.
20 activists of SSP arrested: Pindi killings
FAISALABAD, Feb 27: As many as 20 activists of the Sipah Sahaba Pakistan were rounded up on Wednesday by Faisalabad range police following Rawalpindi killings.
The police sources said the federal government had expressed concern over the Rawalpindi incident and asked the police to take all possible steps to prevent such incident in future. They said so far 20 people belonging to the banned SSP were arrested in Faisalabad, Toba Tek Sing and Jhang districts while raids were being carried out for more arrests.
The names of the arrested people were:
FAISALABAD DISTRICT: Engineer Tahir Mehmood, son of Maulana Muhammad Ali Janbaz, a resident of Bukhari Chowk, Qasim Bazaar, Samundri tehsil, Qari Abdul Rehman, son of Allah Ditta, a resident of 473-GB, Samundri tehsil, Muhammad Ahmad Khan, son of Khan Din, a resident of 226-GB, Samundri tehsil, Hafiz Muhammad Qasim, son of Nazir Ahmad, a resident of Chak No.69/GB Jaranwala tehsil, Muhammad Zubari, son of Muhammad Ramzan, a resident of 186-RB Dhaloon, Chak Jhumra, Muhammad Akhtar, son of Muhammad Ilyas, a resident of Chak 121/JB, and Khaliqueur Rehman, son of Chirag, a resident of 83-JB, Dijkot,
JHANG DISTRICT:Ghulam Shabbir, son of Muhammad Shafi, a resident of Mohallah Thathi Garbi, Chiniot, Mujahid, son of Khuda Bukhsh, a resident of Mohallah Thathi Garbi, Chiniot, Shabbir Ahmed, son of Mansoor Ahmed, a resident of Mohallah Garian, Chiniot, Asif, son of Abdul Kareem, a resident of Mohallah Kutcha Kot, Shorkot, Hafeezullah, son of Habibullah, a resident of Basti Arain, Shorkot, Muhammad Arshad, son of Faqir Muhammad, a resident of Garh Mahraja, Shorkot, and Abdul Waheed, son of Sheikh Abdul Hameed, a resident of Garh Mahraja, Shorkot.
TOBA TEK SINGH DISTRICT: Nazir Ahmed, son of Muhammad Yousaf, a resident of Islampura. Akramul Haq, son of Bashir Ahmed, a resident of Chamra Mandi, Muhammad Aslam, son of Muhammad Ali, a resident of Islampura, Muhammad Ajmal, son of Abdul Ghafoor, a resident of Mustafabad, Lutafullah, son of Anwarullah, a resident of Chak 295/GB, and Qari Abdul Rehman, son of Bahadar Ali, a resident of Adda Aroti, Kamalia tehsil.
investigating officer SHO, guard killed in 'terrorist' attack
10-7-2004
RAWALPINDI, July 10: A police inspector and his guard were shot dead in, what appeared to be, a terrorist attack by two unidentified persons riding a motorbike in Afshan Colony here on Saturday.
Inspector Raja Saqlain, the station house officer of Westridge police station, left his Afshan Colony residence along with his guard-cum driver Altaf Hussain in his car (IDG-5509) for police station at around 9.15 am. Altaf Hussain, head-constable, was Mr Saqlain's nephew.
The police inspector had to appear before the anti-terrorist court for cross-examination in Shah Najaf case.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Cantonment Circle, Khurram Sultan said two unidentified persons riding a motorcycle, one of them bearded and tall wearing Shalwar Kameez, came in front of the car and started firing with AK-47 assault rifle. As the driver lost control of the car due to intense firing, it veered off the road.
The attackers then moved towards the back side of the car and continued firing till both the police officials died. The ASP said that a vendor, who had been near the place of occurrence, was missing. "Probably, the vendor was their accomplice and he had been watching Saqlain's movement and finally they targeted him," he said.
Quoting some eye-witnesses, the ASP said that the attackers escaped on a motorbike whose registration plate was unreadable.
The area markets were closed soon after the terrorist attack, while police sealed off the city to hunt down the criminals.
A source said when Raja Saqlain's car reached near the vendor, a man, who had been described as tall and slim, appeared on scene and pushed the cart towards the car causing it to stop. In the meantime, two other persons carrying assault rifles started firing on the car from the back killing both the police officials on the spot.
Raja Saqlain had been on the terrorists hit-list since he started investigating high-profile terrorist cases. He had been very close to concluding the investigation into the December 25 terrorist attack on the presidential convoy.
Talking to reporters after saying the funeral prayers of the police officials, Punjab Law minister Basharat Raja said it was an act of terrorism. However, no group has claimed the attack so far. He said it would be premature to link attack on policemen with terrorist attacks on President Musharraf.
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