By Indo-Asian News Service
Islamabad: At least 13 people were killed and 45 injured Tuesday night as a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the venue of a lawyers’ rally here that was to have been addressed by Pakistan’s suspended chief justice.
The blast took place at the main gate of a market, some 100 metres from the stage prepared for the address of suspended chief justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry to the Islamabad Bar.
Blood was splattered at the site of the blast site. The chief justice was due here to address the Islamabad Bar and his convoy was staying near the Balochistan House in the same city. His convoy was stopped by police after the blast.
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told CNN-IBN news channel that it was a suicide attack.
“The bomber blew himself outside the pandal (marquee) where the meeting of the chief justice was to be held. Most of the victims were political workers. It was meant to create a scare in the area.”
When asked who could be behind the attack, he said it was very early to say who could be behind it, but “we can make a fair guess”.
Asked if it was a fallout of last week’s storming of the Lal Masjid here to flush out radical Islamists holed up in the mosque, Sherpao said: “I won’t say it is a direct fallout, but it could be an attempt to magnify it.”
He emphasised that the government was keen to “establish a moderate Muslim state”, adding: “We are all concerned. This is a struggle, we have to eliminate terrorism from Pakistan.”
Geo TV editor Hamid Mir said that the attack was meant to target workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) assembled there as its leader, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had supported the Lal Masjid operation. He said that of the 13 killed most were PPP workers and no lawyers were among the victims.
However, Sherpao said five policemen were among those injured and it could not be said with certainty if PPP workers were targeted. He said the death toll could rise as some of the injured were in critical condition.
“There is a high alert. We have sensitised everyone.”
Sherpao was himself the target of a suicide attack recently. He is in charge of security in Islamabad.