By NNN-PTI,
Islamabad : The death toll in a deadly suicide bombing near the Lal Masjid here rose to 20 with a policeman succumbing to his injuries today even as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the attack was aimed at destabilising Pakistan.
A constable of the Special Branch, who was injured in yesterday’s suicide attack on a police contingent, died in a city hospital this morning. Officials said 18 of the people killed were policemen. Over 40 people were injured in the attack.
The government has announced a reward of Rs 5 million for information on the perpetrators of the suicide bombing, which occurred shortly after the end of a meeting organised by hardline religious groups to mark the first anniversary of the storming of the Lal Masjid by the army last year.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Kuala Lumpur to attend the D-8 conference, Prime Minister Gilani said the incident had brought a bad name to Pakistan. “It’s a cowardly act by those who want to destabilise the country and malign Islam,” he said.
Rehman Malik, who functions as the interior minister, said a reward of Rs 5 million will be given to anyone who helps identify the suicide bomber and other perpetrators of the attack. The government has formed a joint investigation team comprising officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence and Federal Investigation Agency.
The bomber’s torso had been found at the site of the blast and a sketch of his face would soon be released, Malik told reporters after visiting victims of the attack in a hospital here late last night.
Malik also told Geo News channel that witnesses had said that the attack was carried out by a boy aged about 15 or 16 years who was clad in a white salwar-kameez. He had earlier said the attacker was in his thirties.