Eight die in suicide attack on Rawalpindi Imambargah

RAWALPINDI: Eight people were killed and 25 others wounded in a suicide attack on Imambargah Aun Muhammad Rizvi at Chittian Hattian, a densely populated locality of Rawalpindi city, on Friday night.

The blast occurred at a time when a Mehfil-e-Milad to celebrate the birth of the holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) was in progress at the Imambargah. The police earlier claimed it was a suicide attack but later the regional police officer was quoted by television channels as saying that 4-5 kilo explosive were planted in a Nullah outside the Imambargah.

Earlier, eyewitnesses had reportedly claimed the suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance when he was intercepted by security guards of the Imambargah.Volunteers shifted the bodies and wounded people to the District Headquarters Hospital and Benazir Bhutto Hospital through private vehicles while the police reached the scene after about 25 minutes of the occurrence.

Emergency was declared in hospitals after the incident.Police confirmed that a suicide attacker blew himself up after his attempt to enter the Imambargah was foiled. The bomber reached the spot at around 9:20pm on a bike.

Eyewitnesses said the explosion that took place outside the Imambargah was so intense that windowpanes of nearby buildings were shattered.Ibne Muhammad Rizvi, a leader of the PPP (Naheed Khan group), and two policemen who were posted on security duty outside the Imambargah were also among the injured.

Security was put on a high alert in Rawalpindi and Islamabad following the attack on the Imambargah.No terrorist outfit has yet claimed responsibility for the incident till the filing of this report. Meanwhile, taking notice of the incident, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has ordered the IGP Punjab to launch a probe into the incident.

Agencies add: President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and chief of Tehreek Nafaz Fiqh-e-Jafariya Hamid Ali Moosavi condemned the blast in Rawalpindi which killed innocent people.

In their separate statements, they said such cowardly acts cannot deter the resolve of the government and the people of Pakistan to eliminate terrorism.They prayed that Almighty Allah rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.