‘Karsaz tragedy was deadliest attack ever on any political party in world’

Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani on Thursday said the Karsaz tragedy of October 18, 2007, is the deadliest attack ever on any political party in the world.

Ghani, who is also the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Karachi president, made this remark while speaking to the media during his visit to the Karsaz monument on the eve of the anniversary of the deadly attack on Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming rally.

He said that the vicious forces responsible for the October 18 attack also carried out the terror attack on December 27 the same year, which resulted in Benazir’s death.

He recalled that 17 years ago, 170 PPP workers and supporters lost their lives while hundreds more were injured when terrorists attacked the rally at Karsaz.

He said PPP leaders and workers visit the Karsaz monument on the eve of every October 18 to pay tribute to their fellow party activists who sacrificed their lives while welcoming their leader. This year the PPP’s public gathering will be held in Hyderabad to honour the Karsaz victims, he added.

Replying to a question, he recalled that the then government had registered the FIR for the Karsaz tragedy.

He said the PPP had approached the court to become the complainant in the case, but the government had filed a petition in the high court against this move.

He described the government action as unprecedented. He also said the evidence related to both the October 18 tragedy in Karachi and the December 27 terror attack in Rawalpindi had not been preserved by the authorities at the time and was consequently lost.

Answering another query, he confirmed that the PPP had challenged the court’s decision to order the release of the suspects arrested following the December 27 terror attack.