Shias targeted again, this time in Karachi

A bus carrying Shia Muslims to a rally was bombed at a busy crossing of Karachi on Friday, killing at least one person and injuring about 25 others.
The incident occurred close to Safari Park on the main University Road of the country’s financial capital as the bus carrying the Shias was on way to MA Jinnah Road to participate in a Youm-e-Quds rally. The rally was being organized to express solidarity with Palestinians and to demonstrate against Thursday’s cold-blooded killings of Shias in Kohistan. “A low-intensity bomb planted near a bus stand in Gulistan-e-Jauhar neighborhood exploded and hit a car and a bus,” senior police official Shahid Hayat told a foreign news agency. “The bomb killed a man in the car and injured 11 others, most of whom were bus passengers,” Hayat said. The injured were moved to Jinnah Hospital where doctors said a majority were in critical condition.
Most of the passengers were said to be students of Imamia Students Organization (ISO) and were headed to the Youm-e-Quds rally, which was to begin at Numaish Chowrangi and conclude at Tibet Centre. The bomb partially destroyed the bus, however a Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) sub-station located outside Safari Park was badly damaged in the explosion. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah ordered an inquiry and sought a report from the Sindh IGP at the earliest. Upon hearing the news, participants of the Youm-e-Quds rally protested against the incident, saying proper security had not been provided to the participants despite bus routes being known to the authorities. The DIG East confirmed the explosion was caused by a bomb planted near the KESC sub-station, dispelling earlier claims that the blast was a result of a CNG cylinder explosion. Karachi Commissioner Roshan Ali Sheikh said the blast was the result of a planted device. The Bomb Disposal Squad said around two kilograms of explosives were used in the bomb.