The police and allied agencies are still clueless about the perpetrators of the twin bomb attacks on the homecoming procession of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
PPP has decided not to arrange any main public gathering this year, because of heavy rains and flood in specially Sindh. Party has announced QURAN KHAWANI and prays for the Martyred workers of PPP on 18th October 2022 at District Level.
Dr. Abdul Razzak Shaikh
The police and allied agencies are still clueless about the perpetrators of the twin bomb attacks on the homecoming procession of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto despite the passage of 15 years.
Around 180 people were killed and more than 500 others were wounded when two blasts in quick succession ripped through the procession on Oct 18, 2007. Most of the martyrs were members of the Pakistan People’s Party.
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was safe, as two blasts detonated in the heart of the tightly-packed crowd causing carnage and chaos.
The Karsaz bombing attack occurred on 18 October 2007 in Karachi, Pakistan, it was an attack on a motorcade carrying former Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. The bombing occurred two months before she was assassinated.
The tens of thousands of people had thronged on roads and streets to welcome the return of Benazir Bhutto, after an eight-year self-exile during which she lived in Dubai and London. Two explosions occurred in front of the rallying truck from which she greeted her supporters and party members. Blasts occurred on the route about halfway from the airport to the tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah for a scheduled rally, just after Bhutto’s truck had crossed a bridge. Police vehicles also bore the brunt of the blasts, as three police vans were completely destroyed while at least 20 policemen also lost their lives. Conflicting reports indicate that Ms. Bhutto, who was not injured in the attack, was either sitting on top of the truck or had just climbed into the compartment of the truck at the time of the explosion.
Ms. Bhutto was escorted to her residence, Bilawal house. The victims were rushed to Jinnah, Civil, Liaquat National and Abbasi Shaheed Hospitals. In a press conference on 19 October 2007, Benazir Bhutto said that her security team was unable to prevent the attack because of the street light being turned off, and called for an inquiry into why this happened. On 20 October, authorities released a photograph of the suspect responsible for the suicide attack. On 23 October, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz rejected PPP demand for a probe into the suicide blast by foreign experts, expressing confidence that Pakistani law-enforcement agencies can probe in a very objective manner.
However, oOn the 15th anniversary of the Karsaz bomb attack, no progress has so far been made to bring the culprits to justice. Three inquiry committees have been constituted since 2008 to trace the mastermind, handlers, and executors of the attack, but to no avail.
After the devastating blasts, the then provincial government, led by the Chief Minister, Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim had set up an inquiry tribunal to investigate the twin blasts. The tribunal headed by retired Justice Dr. Ghous Mohammad started proceedings and recorded the statements of around 40 witnesses.
In March 2008, the police produced in court Qari Saifullah Akhtar, an alleged Al Qaeda militant, but he was released for want of evidence. Qari Akhtar was brought before the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism court and was remanded in police custody for allegedly masterminding the twin blasts.
The court, however, released him around 10 days after his remand since the police officer, DSP Nawaz Ranjha, who was later gunned down, submitted that no incriminating evidence had been found to link him with the blasts.
The arrest and production of the alleged militant was made before the PPP came into power and since then there has hardly been any effort made to track down the culprits and bring them to justice.
In 2012, the then Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that the provincial government had constituted another committee, headed by a deputy inspector general of police, to inquire into the Karsaz tragedy. But there was no outcome to these inquiries.
Later, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had announced a five-member inquiry committee to re-investigate the twin blast case.
Since the incident, 15 years have passed and the third PPP government ruling Sindh without interruption, but the innocent blood of martyrs still waiting for Justice.
PPP has decided not to arrange any main public gathering this year, because of heavy rains and flood in specially Sindh. Party has announced QURAN KHAWANI and prays for the Martyred workers of PPP on 18th October 2022 at District Level. The incidence taken place fifteen years ago and never to be forgotten in the political History of Pakistan. We also salute martyred party workers at Garhi Khuda Bux graveyard; commemorate anonymous martyrs of the incident.
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Dr. Abdul Razzak Shaikh, is President, Peoples Doctors’ Forum Sindh. He has retired from Health Department Govt. of Sindh.
