KARACHI – The Ashura blast of 2009 and the ensuing incineration at many shops in Boulton Market were both planned operations, confessed suspected target killer Ajmal Pahari to a joint interrogation team (JIT).
On December 27, 2009, a powerful bomb had ripped through the traditional mourning procession organised by the Shiite community in Karachi, killing at least 45 citizens and wounding hundreds. The blast had taken place near Denso Hall and had triggered a stampede. In the commotion and confusion that followed the blast, many miscreants had emerged from by-lanes and started torching shops in Boulton Market.
Pahari, who was arrested two weeks ago by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Karachi Police in connection with targeting more than 100 people, has now pinned the blame for both the blast and the incineration on his “superiors.” In a JIT report detailing Pahari’s confessions, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, the suspect claimed that his group of target killers were informed of the plan two days before they were supposed to execute it. “We were instructed to prepare a team of more than 100 men, and all of them were to be dressed in black clothes,” he said. “We knew fully well the exact location of where the bomb was planted, since this information had been communicated to us by our high-ups.”
The finer points of the strategy to be employed were finalised at one of the target killers’ residence. “We gathered at the residence of Kashif, who is the in-charge of a group of target killers. That is where our strategy was finalised, and we ensured that all requirements of our superiors would be met,” Pahari said. When investigators asked Pahari about the rationale for the blast and setting the market ablaze, he was clueless. “I don’t know the reasons, we just followed the orders of our high-ups,” he said.
Each member of the 100-strong squad was given a bottle of a specific chemical that would aid in starting the fire and spreading it far and wide. “We remained at a safe distance away from where the bomb had been planted, and after the blast, we set Boulton Market shops on fire,” Pahari said.
