A complete strike was observed in Quetta on Friday on the call of Hazara Democratic Party and Wahdad-e-Muslimeen backed by Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party to protest Thursday’s bombing of a bus carrying Shia pilgrims, as Quetta rounded up over two dozen suspects from Sariab area of the city in connection with the Hazar Gunji bombing. Police official Amanullah Kakar said the police party conducted raids in Sariab and rounded up two dozen suspects for interrogation. He said the raids aimed at gathering clues through the interrogation of suspects, and they would be allowed to go if they were found innocent.
He hoped the police got some information that led them to track down the real culprits. On Thursday, a car bomb ripped apart a bus carrying Shia pilgrims from Taftan to Quetta, killing 11 pilgrims and two escorting guards. The banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility and said its volunteer Ziaur Rahman Farooqi had carried out a suicide attack on the bus carrying Shia pilgrims. Police are yet to establish whether it was a suicide blast or remote controlled explosion. The explosion was so heavy that was heard far and wide and the engine of the car carrying explosives was found 50 yards away. “That is why we cannot establish so far whether it was a remote controlled or suicide blast, as many bodies were blown into pieces, however police experts are investigating cautiously,” Amanullah Kakar said.
On Friday, Capital City Police Officer Mir Zubair Mahmood along with DIG Investigation Hamid Shakeel held a meeting with the notables of Hazara Community at Nechari Imambargah and apprised them of the security arrangements made on the eve of funeral and movement of community members through the sensitive area.
They also discussed the modalities of security during the movement of pilgrims in future in the wake of Hazar Gunji incident.
