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| 36 die in Pindi suicide bombing |
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Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Four soldiers among those killed in attack; victims targeted while drawing salaries, pensions
By Shakeel Anjum
RAWALPINDI: A suicide bomber hit a bank here on Monday, killing 36 people and wounding over 65 others. Four soldiers are among the dead.
The bomber blew himself up outside the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on the Khadim Hussain Road, where people had lined up to draw their salaries and pensions.Witnesses told this correspondent that a young man in his early twenties stopped his motorbike in front of the bank and blew himself up.
The dead and the injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), the Military Hospital (MH) and the Combined Military Hospital (CMH). A state of emergency was declared in hospitals, sources said, adding a number of injured were in critical condition. Most of the victims were badly scorched.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, when contacted, confirmed that the Army personnel were also among the dead and injured.“Four soldiers were martyred and nine others sustained injuries in this suicide bombing,” the Army spokesman said, adding they had gone there to draw their salaries.
The bombing occurred at 10:40am when people, mostly government servants, had lined up to draw their salaries and pensions from the bank.People termed it a security lapse as the terrorists succeeded in entering the highest security zone. Rescue teams immediately rushed to the blast scene while troops took control of the area.
Bomb disposal units of the Army and the police as well as explosives experts of sensitive intelligence agencies, the Punjab CID and the SIG of FIA reached the scene and collected evidence.
The investigation agencies have collected head and legs of the suicide bomber, sources said. “There were many people lying on the ground with wounds, and a motorcycle was on fire with one man underneath,” witnesses said.
“This is a terrible thing. It is happening again and again,” a man, passing by the road with his minor daughter, said. Regional Police Officer (RPO), Additional Inspector General of Police Muhammad Aslam Tarin confirmed that it was as a suicide attack.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry, asking the Rawalpindi RPO to constitute a high-level investigation team to fix responsibility on the law-enforcement agencies if it was a security lapse, police sources said.
According to preliminary investigations, an official said 10 to 15 kg high-powered explosives material was used in the attack with over four kilogram steel ball bearings packed in the jacket, causing comparatively more damage.
According to the evidence collected from the site, manual trigger mechanism was used in the suicide attack, sources said. According to the information collected from various hospitals and police, 32 civilians, including two women, and four Army personnel were among the 36 people killed. Of them, 18 bodies were brought to the CMH, 11 to the DHQ, six to the MH and one to the Heart International while a total 65 persons were wounded in the terrorist act. Thirty-three people injured in the attack were military and civil employees of the military departments.
City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Rao Muhammad Iqbal when contacted said security in the garrison areas of Rawalpindi in particular and other vital installations in general has been enhanced to avoid further incidents of terrorism.
APP adds: Meanwhile, President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday strongly condemned the blast.
In their separate messages, they said the perpetrators of such heinous crime would not be spared. They expressed condolence over the loss of innocent lives and said the government was committed to root out terrorism from the country.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmud Qureshi, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Secretary-General Mushahid Hussain Sayed and other also condemned the blast.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
