ISLAMABAD, May 27: Twenty people, including a suspected suicide bomber, were killed and nearly 100 others injured in a powerful explosion during a crowded Majlis at the Bari Imam shrine here on Friday, police and hospital authorities said. Casualty figures may rise as 12 of the injured were said to be in critical condition in different hospitals of Islamabad. Seven of the critically wounded were operated upon at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS)
Security guards and witnesses said that some 8,000 to 10,000 followers of both Sunni and Shia sects were attending the Majlis when a bearded man of medium height and dark complexion walked up to the stage and blew himself up.
�The suicide bomber tossed up in the air like a big ball of fire and his body disintegrated. The scene was like a slaughterhouse with body parts scattered everywhere. It was terrible,� Mohammad Asif, suffering shrapnel wounds, said from a hospital bed.
A police official posted a few yards from the Majlis said: �After the blast, a tall plume of fire went up in the sky and several people were killed.� Charred bodies beyond identification were found at the scene of the blast. The upper part of the body of a man believed to be the suicide bomber was also found lying a few yards from the blast site.
Extra police were present on the premises of the shrine on Friday in connection with the last ceremony of Bari Imam Urs when the suicide attacker struck at about 11am. Tehrik-i-Nifaz Fiqah Jafaria chief Hamid Ali Moosvi was scheduled to attend the Majlis, but he could not come to the shrine located in the vicinity of the diplomatic enclave.
TNFJ information secretary Syed Qamar Haider Zaidi said that as Tehrik�s district president Allama Raja Basharat entered the Majlis, the bomber blew himself up nearly 10 feet from the stage.
�The suicide bomber�s head was tossed up in the air and there were many casualties,� Mr Zaidi said. He condemned the attack and demanded that the government should strictly impose the ban on extremist groups.
Police used teargas and resorted to baton-charge when angry devotees pelted the personnel of law-enforcement agencies with stones and damaged a police van, witnesses said.
When asked by this reporter if the suicide attack was a security lapse, SSP Islamabad Liaquat Ali Khan said plainclothesmen had been deployed around the Majlis. The SSP said that the weight of the explosive device used by the suicide attacker could not be known.
Ambulances and police vehicles rushed to the scene and a state of emergency was declared in all the hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Official sources said 19 people were killed and 80 others were injured. But Edhi sources put the death toll at about 50 with 200 wounded.
Meanwhile, the capital police have released a sketch of the suspected suicide bomber and announced a reward of Rs500,000 for the person who provided information about the attacker.
In another development, a joint investigation team comprising officials of the FIA�s Special Investigation Group, CID Punjab and Islamabad police has been formed to investigate the attack.
The injured and the bodies of the deceased were taken to four hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Bodies of Mohammad Sarwar, Khizar Abbas, Asad Abbas, Ijaz Hussain Shah, an employee of the atomic energy commission; Ubdar Hussain Shah, Allah Ditta, Haji Mohammad Ayub, Latifullah, an army personnel; Abdul Qudoos, Shamsur Rehman, Niaz Hussain Shah, Abdal Hussain Shah and four others yet to be identified were sent to PIMS.
A body, identified as Mukhtar Hussain, was taken to the Capital Hospital.
About 54 of the injured were brought to PIMS, six to the Capital Hospital and 21 were taken to the Federal Government Services Hospital. One injured was shifted to the Rawalpindi General Hospital. The victims with minor injuries were allowed to go home after first-aid.
PRESS NOTE: Meanwhile, a press note issued by the district magistrate said: �When a Majlis-i-Aza was being held in the compound of Hazrat Bari Imam (RA) shrine at Noorpur Shahan Islamabad, an unknown person suddenly entered the premises of the shrine and attempted to embrace the speaker.
�A bomb blast took place in the Majlis-i-Aza as a result of which 18 persons, including the possible suicide bomber, were killed at the spot whereas 67 persons sustained injuries�.
The press note further said: �Soon after the occurrence, the mob present at the shrine got infuriated and started pelting the police officials on duty with stones. Three police officials were injured and were shifted to various hospitals of the city for treatment. However, the district administration immediately pacified the mob and brought the situation under control, it added.
Refering Site
Security forces on high alert after suicide bombing
28-05-2005
ISLAMABAD, May 28: The security forces were put on highalert for reprisal attacks on Saturday after Imam Bari suicide bombing on Friday which claimed at least 20 lives. The government ordered security to be stepped up across the country, particularly at mosques and other places of worship in major cities and towns.
Most of the victims of the blast were members of the minority Shia community. The incident triggered concerns over a new round of sectarian violence. Thousands of Shia and Sunni Muslims have been killed in sectarian carnage in Pakistan in recent years. Last year 160 people died in similar waves of violence.
�We have ordered enhanced security across the country particularly at places of worship as well as public and government buildings to ward off possible revenge attacks,� an interior ministry official told AFP.
Police have published photographs of the severed head of the suspected bomber, who appears to be in his 20s and has a thin moustache and unshaven face.
They have also offered a 500,000 rupee reward for identification of the perpetrator. No one has yet claimed responsibility.
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, who visited the site of the blast on Saturday, said it was a suicide attack and the agencies were trying to identity the bomber.
�The investigation is underway but I cannot disclose anything at this stage,� he told reporters.
The government has also offered two million rupees for information leading to capture of those involved.
Around 60 people wounded in the blast were still in hospitals on Saturday and doctors said 15 of them were in critical condition.
President Pervez Musharraf appealed to the nation late Friday to remain calm and cooperate with the government and police to root out extremism and terrorism.
�Police cannot accomplish the job alone. The government and the law enforcement agencies need full cooperation of the people and it is the duty of everyone to uproot the menace,� he said.�AFP
Hundreds of pilgrims were celebrating an annual festival when the bomb exploded at the Bari Imam shrine.
�The congregation was in progress. Around 400 people were there when a man walked in and started towards the stage where a religious leader was delivering sermon,� a witness, Mohammad Amjad, said.
�When the man got close to the stage, there was a big explosion and there was panic all around.�
The shrine, in the village of Nurpur, is dedicated to the Sufi Muslim saint Shah Abdul Latif Kazimi, known as Bari Imam, who preached and spread Islam in the region.
The Sunni custodian of the shrine and two other people were shot dead near the compound in February.
In March this year 39 Sunni and Shia devotees were killed in a blast at another Sufi shrine Fatahpur.
A group of religious leaders belonging to various sects had, early this month, declared as un-Islamic suicide bombings and attacks on ordinary citizens and places of worship.�AFP
Refering Site
�Deadline� for arrest of shrine bomber
30-05-2005
KOHAT, May 30: The Tehrik Nifaz-i-Fiqah Jafria and the Mukhtar Students Organization have given a three-day ultimatum to the government for arrest of terrorists involved in the Bari Imam shrine blast and demanded resignation of Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao.
Speaking at a protest rally in Sherkot here on Sunday, TNFJ divisional president Syed Abul Hassan Khomeini said the wave of suicide attacks was a result of ongoing tussle between the government and Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants.
He alleged that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal was hand in glove with the terrorists who were targeting mosques and imambargahs. He criticised the government for failing to protect places of worship and demanded it should publicly admit its failure in maintaining law and order.
He asked how the government could provide security to common man when the president, prime minister and generals were not safe in the country.
Earlier, a protest procession was taken out from the Imambargah Ali ibne Talib which culminated into the rally.
The participants through resolutions demanded early arrest of the terrorists and award of punishment to them, sacking of the Islamabad police chief and strict action against the banned religious outfits.
Refering Site
Bari Imam bomber identified
5-7-2005
ISLAMABAD, July 5: The suicide bomber, who killed 20 people and injured nearly 100 by blowing himself up at Bari Imam shrine on May 27, has been identified by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the bloodiest terror attack in Islamabad�s history.
Senior Superintendent of Police Capt (retired) Liaquat Ali Khan told a press conference here on Tuesday that the bomber �belonged to a high-profile network which has roots throughout the country� but he refused to disclose his identity. �It is not in the national interest to disclose the identity of the accused at the moment,� the SSP said.
Asked if the suicide bomber belonged to any banned religious group, he said �it is a possibility�. The police was �working on other aspects also�, he added without elaborating.
The official said revealing any information about the suicide bomber would affect the ongoing investigations.
Though, he confirmed that security agencies had arrested many suspects from Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, Malakand, Multan and Lahore, he identified only one of them, Tahseen, who was picked up in Karachi. The JIT had easy access to all the suspects, he said.
Asked how helpful had the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) proved in the JIT investigations into the Bari Imam suicide attack case, the SSP said �zero�.
The police had collected much evidence and was close to solving the case, he said.
Refering Site
Bari Imam blast: body of prime suspect buried
13-7-2005
ISLAMABAD, July 13: The local police on Wednesday buried the unclaimed body of the prime suspect in the May 27 Bari Imam shrine blast in which 20 people had lost their life. The administration of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) had written a letter to the Secretariat police station SHO, Jamil Hashmi, requesting him to collect the body from Pims mortuary. The Pims administration told the SHO that the body was lying in the mortuary since May 27 and occupying the space unnecessarily.
Mr Hashmi told Dawn that the Secretariat police had collected the body and buried it in trust at the CDA graveyard in H-8.
The SHO said earlier the body was not buried as the police were waiting for the family of the deceased, but unfortunately no one claimed the body.
The police took snaps and made video of the suspect for investigation and legal process, he added.
When asked about his identification, the SHO said: �It is a difficult question to answer.�
Refering Site