62 killed, 100 injured in Khuzdar suicide blast

Blast occurred on premises of Shah Noorani’s shrine before evening prayers; army teams sent after Gen Raheel’s order; PM, ISPR, others condemn incident

KARACHI: At least 62 people, including women and children, were killed and over 100 wounded, some of them critically, in a massive explosion at the shrine of Shah Noorani in the Khuzdar district of Balochistan, some 200 kilometres north of Karachi on Saturday evening, police and Balochistan government officials.

“Devotees were busy in Dhamaal, (a ritual dance) in the courtyard of Shah Noorani shrine around sunset when a huge explosion killed and injured dozens of people. It is still unclear whether it was a suicide attack or carried out with an Improvised Explosive Device,” Zia Mandokhel, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Hub, told The News.

Following the explosion, local people at the shrine evacuated the dead and injured on self-help basis and shifted them to nearby clinics while ambulances with doctors and paramedics from the Hub Tehsil of Lasbella district, Karachi and even from Quetta were despatched to the Shah Noorani shrine to bring the dead and injured to hospitals in Hub and Karachi.

Hundreds of people, including women and children from entire Karachi and interior of Sindh, visit the Shah Noorani shrine in the Khuzdar district and on Saturday hundreds of devotees were present at the shrine while women had started the dhamaal (ritual dance) when a massive explosion killed dozens of them on the spot and injured scores of others, police officials said.

Emergency was declared at the Civil, Jinnah Postgraduate, Abbasi Shaheed and PNS Shifa Hospitals in Karachi, Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital in Hub and nearby hospitals. But majority of the injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Karachi, due to lack of health facilities, trained and qualified surgeons and paramedics at hospitals in Hub, Lasbella and Khuzdar districts of Balochistan.

Following the incident, the Pakistan Army, Sindh Rangers and Pakistan Navy despatched their medical teams along with soldiers to treat the badly injured patients on the site of the incident while over 80 ambulances with medical supplies were sent from the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), Civil Hospital, Karachi, and other hospitals from Karachi.

“We have sent around 80 ambulances with medical supplies and water to the Shah Noorani Shrine to bring back the wounded persons while emergency has been declared at all the major hospitals in Karachi. All required surgical supplies, medicines and blood have been arranged,” Commissioner Karachi, Aijaz Ahmed Khan, told newsmen in Karachi.

Rescue teams and authorities faced immense hardships in reaching the site of the incident and bringing the badly-wounded patients back to hospitals due to long distance, poor roads and darkness as there is no electricity in the area, officials said adding that many of the badly wounded persons died due to excessive bleeding on their way to hospitals in Hub and Karachi.

The badly-injured persons started arriving at the Civil Hospital, Karachi, at around 10:45 pm on Saturday night, health officials at the Civil Hospital Karachi’s Trauma Center said, adding that most of the patients were critically injured and were being operated upon by the meidcal teams to save their lives.

Moving scenes were witnessed at the Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital in Hub and Civil Hospital, Karachi, where injured and dead bodies of devotees from the Shah Noorani shrine were brought as people including men, women and children were seen holding their Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) for the identification of their loved ones.

Incharge Trauma Center, Karachi, Dr. Saeed Qureshi, said they had received 33 persons from the Shah Noorani shrine, five of them were brought dead, 28 were injured of which five were in critical condition and were being given medical treatment at the health facility.

There were also reports that five of the injured had been taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital while some of the injured were also shifted to private hospitals in Karachi by their relatives while dozens of injured were on their way to hospitals till the filing of this report.

Investigators from Karachi and Quetta, including Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) officials, were also sent to Shah Noorani to collect evidence from the site of the incident but preliminary probe suggested that several kilograms of explosive packed with ball bearings and pellets was used to carry out the terrorist attack at the shrine to cause the maximum damage and casualties.

“The Shah Noorani shrine comes under the control of Balochistan Levies and they provide security in the area but no search and measures are taken at the shrine to check or prevent the movement of explosives,” DSP Hub Zia Mandokhel said.

He said on Saturdays, hundreds of people from different areas of Karachi, interior of Sindh and Balochistan visit the shrine on buses, coasters, trucks and even motorbikes and added that terrorists selected the time of the attack when they could cause the maximum damage due to large presence of devotees at the shrine.

News Desk adds: As per Edhi sources, at least 52 dead bodies have been taken to hospital. The dead include women and children. The death toll may increase as the nearest hospital is at least 150 kilometres away from the shrine. Dr Hakeem Lassi of Edhi Foundation, while speaking to Geo News, said that hundreds of people, including women and children, were injured in the blast. He said the injured were shifted to hospitals from the shrine, which is located in a very difficult rough mountainous terrain. The shrine does not have any direct road access and people have to walk for a long distance to reach the shrine. Most of the deaths occurred as no medical aid could be given to the injured.

CM Balochistan Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, while talking to Geo News, stated that due to complete blackout in the affected area, helicopters cannot be sent for rescue mission. Anwarul Haq Kakar, the Balochistan government spokesman, said that the CM was himself overseeing the whole rescue operation. The CM has also ordered the commissioner Kalat to give a detailed report on the incident.

“Forty-three people have died and dozens injured in the incident,” confirmed Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti. Bugti also hinted towards foreign involvement in the attack. It has not yet been ascertained whether the bombing was a suicide attack or a remote-controlled detonation. He said helicopter ambulance could not be used because of darkness. Bugti said the explosion took place when the devotees were engaged in dhamaal.

As per initial reports from the local media, the blast occurred near the courtyard at the shrine where devotees were performing Dhamal on Saturday. Rescue teams from Hub have reportedly reached the scene and started shifting the injured to nearby hospitals. Hub is an industrial city and its original name was Hub Chowki because once there was a police and customs check post, named Nakahi.

Hazrat Baba Shah Noorani’s Shrine, which is more than 500 years old, is located in Hub in the Balochistan province. It is surrounded by a striking mountain range where one can find a diversity of animal life. The only way up to the shrine is on foot and the nearest road is about 10 miles away.

Talking to Geo News, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Lasbella, Tariq Mengal, said that 500 to 600 people were present in the shrine at the time of the blast. Mengal said that many people on Saturdays and Sundays arrive at the shrine to participate in the Dhamaal, a traditional folk dance. He said the authorities were trying to shift the injured to Karachi for treatment.

Rescue teams and law enforcers are facing difficulty in reaching the site of the blast as it is located in a remote area. “Every day, around sunset, there is a Dhamaal here, and there are large numbers of people who come for this,” said Nawaz Ali, the shrine’s custodian.

No group has taken responsibility for the blast so far.

As per an eyewitness, the blast took place near six pm, but it was reported to the media almost 40 minutes later as telecom signals do not work in the suburban area of Shah Noorani. The blast comes a few days after the Rangers shot dead several terrorists in a raid in the town.

DC Lasbela Zulfiqar Shah said that ambulances were despatched to the area to help those injured in the attack. “Although, it is not in the jurisdiction of Lasbela, we have sent rescue teams,” he said. The FC, police and Rangers personnel cordoned off the area and launched a probe.

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif ordered maximum assistance for evacuation and on the spot treatment of the injured at the Shah Noorani shrine.

General Raheel Sharif in the strongest words condemned the suicide attack on the Hazrat Baba Shah Noorani’s shrine. He has issued orders to shift mobile hospitals to the area immediately, according to an ISPR press release. The COAS ordered to use all available resources to shift and help the injured. The Frontier Constabulary were also moved in from different parts of Balochistan to help in the relief work. The FC were the first to arrive and start relief operations. They started providing medical relief to the injured.

Army’s chief spokesman Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa said that troops and medical teams were reaching Khuzdar from Karachi to take part in the rescue and relief operation. In a statement later, the ISPR said that due to difficult terrain and long distance, it took more time to reach the blast site. “Two medical teams, 50 soldiers and 20 ambulances have reached. Another 100 soldiers, four medical teams and 45 ambulances along with Sindh Rangers ambulances and doctors are also on their way,” a statement by the ISPR said. “Evacuation through aircraft is not possible since there is no landing strip in the area. Night heli evacuation will be attempted,” it added. 

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti stated that a control room was set up to monitor the situation. He said army’s assistance was required as there was no major medical facility nearby and the victims have to be shifted to Karachi.

Also, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday asked for a report of the incident from Inspector General Frontier Corps. The minister ordered the Interior Ministry to provide a Cessna plane to the FC so that it could shift the injured of the blast to hospitals.

In another development, the Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, telephoned the IG Sindh and instructed the security agencies to beef up security around religious shrines immediately. He also instructed the concerned authorities to keep him informed on the treatment being provided to the injured in Karachi hospitals and said that no laxity will be tolerated in providing the injured the best medical facilities free of charge. On the orders of the CM, all irrelevant persons have been removed from the entrances of hospitals in Karachi, the secretary health Sindh said.

Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chairman Pakistan Peoples’ Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman Pakistan Awami Tehreek Dr. Tahirul Qadri, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Senator Hasil Bizenjo, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and many other political leaders have condemned the incident and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace and give courage to the bereaved families to bear this loss.