Pabbi blast

Shocking indeed was the suicide attack in Pabbi on Monday that initially killed seven, three of them being policemen, and injured 23 persons. As the details would have it, the suicide bomber tried to barge into the home in Garhi Sher Khan of Minister of Information and Public Relations, Mian Iftikhar Hussain. This was the second major act of subversion in Pabbi tehsil of Nowshera. On Saturday evening, unidentified motorcyclists gunned down the minister’s 27-year-old only son Mian Rashid Hussain, who after offering the ‘Asr’ prayers was on way with cousin Mian Amjad to the local sports stadium. The two young cousins were intercepted along the railway track near the Farm Koroona. Hardly had the tears in Mian Iftikhar’s eyes dried up when suspected militants attempted to target the crowd of mourners, most of them MNAs and MPAs that converged on the minister’s residence to offer their condolences. Police were directing male and female guests to different directions when on a road blockade just close to the minister’s house the suicide bomber on being subjected to a compulsory body search detonated his explosives-laden jacket and blew himself up. Police cordoned off the area and started a house-to-house search by directing the residents to stay indoors as they had a tip that two or more suicide bombers could still be lurking in the winding lanes of the rapidly expanding town.

Undeterred by the explosion, Capital City Police Officer, DIG Liaquat Ali was of the opinion that the saboteurs had no other purpose than to intimidate the general public and cause widespread harassment. There were conflicting reports about Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan making any claims about the Pabbi incidents but a section of the press speculated that militants might well be taking orders from Maulana Fazlullah reportedly hiding in Afghanistan’s Kunnar province bordering on Chitral district and Bajaur Agency. Meanwhile, media persons had to contact Minister for Sports and Culture, Syed Aqil Shah, to know about the well-being and the whereabouts of Mian Iftikhar especially after the bomb disposal squad took into custody a suspected vehicle outside the latter’s house. Police did well in ensuring security on Sunday for the funeral of Mian Rashid but Monday’s events showed that they still had much more to do.