11 dead in suicide attack on Islamabad district courts
March 04, 2014
ISLAMABAD: Eleven people were killed and over 30 wounded in a gun, grenade and suicide attack at the district courts here on Monday morning.Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Rafaqat Ahmad Awan, four lawyers and a policeman were among those killed.
Police and eye-witnesses said the attackers, equipped with automatic guns and hand grenades, entered the district courts premises at 9.07am chanting slogans of Allah-o-Akbar and opened indiscriminate fire at the common people, lawyers, court staff and cops on duty.
A suicide bomber entered a courtroom and opened fire at the additional sessions judge after throwing a hand grenade. The injured bomber blew himself up before the police could overpower him.
Intelligence agencies suspect Lal Masjid factor behind the killing of the judge as he had rejected a petition in April 2013 calling for registration of an FIR against former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for killing students during the Lal Masjid military operation. The judge had rejected the petition observing, “The petition has been filed to gain cheap popularity”. Police or eye-witnesses could not confirm the exact number of attackers; however, two gunmen were seen shooting and hurling hand grenades at people without discrimination.
Meantime, SHO Margalla Police Station, located a few yards from the sessions court, and his team reached the spot and saw a gunman shooting at the people and lawyers.Constable Idrees shot at the gunman but he narrowly escaped. The shooter retaliated and threw a hand grenade at the cop and the SHO, which didn’t explode.
Idrees again shot at the terrorist causing him to collapse in front of the court of Additional Sessions Judge Rafaqat Awan. However, he blew himself up before the police could overpower him.
Meanwhile, IGP Sikandar Hayat reached the scene along with AIG Operations, SSP Operations and SP Sadar Zone while a heavy contingent of police, Rangers and ATS commandos cordoned off the area.
The police took positions on the rooftops of adjacent buildings to hit the gunmen. The exchange of fire between the police and terrorists continued for over two hours.
The gunmen killed lawyers in their chambers, court staff in their offices and common people, witnesses said. Woman lawyer Fizza Tariq was gunned down in front of a courtroom and Constable Mohammad Riaz on his way to a court.
Police commandos launched a comprehensive search operation after the situation normalised but no attacker could be arrested. “Either the remaining attackers managed to escape after completing the task or there were only two attackers who blew themselves up after completing their task,” investigators said. The police recovered two Kalashnikovs and a hand grenade from the scene.
People ran for cover after the gunmen launched the attack. The court staff and other people hid themselves in the back rooms as terrorists were targeting the people. Eyewitnesses said many people were wounded in a stampede.
The attackers kept changing magazines during indiscriminate shooting, eyewitnesses said. However, they could not confirm their ages. Majority of witnesses believed the attackers were foreigners of white complexion sporting long hair.
Pleading anonymity, a police officer said such incidents might revisit with breaks, adding, “Terrorist outfits have ceased fire to gain time and to scatter their men in the sensitive cities of the country. They wanted time to leave North Waziristan to avoid air strikes and air surveillance for the time being and they got it.”
Police and intelligence agencies are working on different angles, including the Lal Masjid factor to make headway.PIMS Director Dr. Waseem Khawaja told this reporter that 36 people were brought to the institute with bullet and burn injuries. He said 11 bodies were brought to the hospital.
Khawaja said five of the injured were in critical condition while four were admitted to the institute’s Burns Unit. He said ASJ Rafaqat Awan received one bullet in chest and one in the left arm.
The dead were identified as ASJ Rafaqat Ahmad Awan, Constable Mohammad Riaz, four lawyers identified as Rao Rasheed, Ameer Haider Shah, Fizza Tariq and Talib Hussain, stamp vendor Haji Sanaullah, two citizens Kamran Ali and Akmal, PAF Chief Technician Shabeer and Allama Iqbal Open University student Mian Mohammad Aslam.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the incident and directed the National Disaster Management Cell to furnish a report within 24 hours.The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice, Muhammad Anwar Kasi, has constituted an inquiry committee comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Registrar IHC to investigate the incident.
The committee will start functioning immediately and not only submit a detailed report to the court but also give its recommendations to prevent such incidents in future.Agencies add: The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Monday disowned the Islamabad district courts terrorist attack which came two days after the Taliban declared a one-month ceasefire in order to pursue the stalled peace negotiations with the government.
In a statement issued three hours after the attack, TTP spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said the Taliban had not carried out the attack and disowned an attack on polio workers in the Khyber Agency. He further said all groups operating under the TTP umbrella were bound to follow the orders of their chief Mullah Fazlullah.
He said foreign intelligence agencies, especially India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), might try to aggravate the situation. He said some local spy outfits didn’t want the negotiations to succeed. He said it was not their responsibility to trace behind-the-scene hands.
Reposing full confidence in the committee representing the Taliban to broker peace talks, he said the government should also express seriousness after the ceasefire announcement.Meanwhile, lawyers in Lahore boycotted the courts in protest against the terrorist attack at the Islamabad district courts.
The Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, Punjab Bar Council, Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar Association held a joint emergency meeting at the LHCBA’S Kiyani Hall here.
As the LHCBA commenced its meeting, LHC Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial along with fellow judges reached the bar and condemned the incident in the strongest words.Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said courts premises were a sanctuary of peace and tranquility for the aggrieved persons and lawyers and security agencies were responsible for maintaining law and order in the courts.
The speakers condemned the incident and said Pakistan was in a state of war as terrorists had besieged their homeland. They said terrorists always violated the ceasefire and the democratic government should cope with them with an iron hand.
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain, former President Asif Ali Zardari, PPPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, PTI chief Imran Khan, ANP Senator Haji Mohammad Adeel and the Taliban committee members Professor Ibrahim and Maulana Yousaf Shah condemned the terrorist attack at the Islamabad district courts in the strongest terms.
Maulana Yousaf Shah expressed the hope that the dialogue process will succeed as both the sides had announced a ceasefire. He claimed that the Taliban were not involved in the incident as they had clearly expressed disassociation from the incident. Maulana Yousaf Shah further said if the Taliban violated the ceasefire, they would defy the Shariah.He said many anti-state forces were working in the country and security forces will have to dig them out to establish peace in the country.
Police and eye-witnesses said the attackers, equipped with automatic guns and hand grenades, entered the district courts premises at 9.07am chanting slogans of Allah-o-Akbar and opened indiscriminate fire at the common people, lawyers, court staff and cops on duty.
A suicide bomber entered a courtroom and opened fire at the additional sessions judge after throwing a hand grenade. The injured bomber blew himself up before the police could overpower him.
Intelligence agencies suspect Lal Masjid factor behind the killing of the judge as he had rejected a petition in April 2013 calling for registration of an FIR against former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for killing students during the Lal Masjid military operation. The judge had rejected the petition observing, “The petition has been filed to gain cheap popularity”. Police or eye-witnesses could not confirm the exact number of attackers; however, two gunmen were seen shooting and hurling hand grenades at people without discrimination.
Meantime, SHO Margalla Police Station, located a few yards from the sessions court, and his team reached the spot and saw a gunman shooting at the people and lawyers.Constable Idrees shot at the gunman but he narrowly escaped. The shooter retaliated and threw a hand grenade at the cop and the SHO, which didn’t explode.
Idrees again shot at the terrorist causing him to collapse in front of the court of Additional Sessions Judge Rafaqat Awan. However, he blew himself up before the police could overpower him.
Meanwhile, IGP Sikandar Hayat reached the scene along with AIG Operations, SSP Operations and SP Sadar Zone while a heavy contingent of police, Rangers and ATS commandos cordoned off the area.
The police took positions on the rooftops of adjacent buildings to hit the gunmen. The exchange of fire between the police and terrorists continued for over two hours.
The gunmen killed lawyers in their chambers, court staff in their offices and common people, witnesses said. Woman lawyer Fizza Tariq was gunned down in front of a courtroom and Constable Mohammad Riaz on his way to a court.
Police commandos launched a comprehensive search operation after the situation normalised but no attacker could be arrested. “Either the remaining attackers managed to escape after completing the task or there were only two attackers who blew themselves up after completing their task,” investigators said. The police recovered two Kalashnikovs and a hand grenade from the scene.
People ran for cover after the gunmen launched the attack. The court staff and other people hid themselves in the back rooms as terrorists were targeting the people. Eyewitnesses said many people were wounded in a stampede.
The attackers kept changing magazines during indiscriminate shooting, eyewitnesses said. However, they could not confirm their ages. Majority of witnesses believed the attackers were foreigners of white complexion sporting long hair.
Pleading anonymity, a police officer said such incidents might revisit with breaks, adding, “Terrorist outfits have ceased fire to gain time and to scatter their men in the sensitive cities of the country. They wanted time to leave North Waziristan to avoid air strikes and air surveillance for the time being and they got it.”
Police and intelligence agencies are working on different angles, including the Lal Masjid factor to make headway.PIMS Director Dr. Waseem Khawaja told this reporter that 36 people were brought to the institute with bullet and burn injuries. He said 11 bodies were brought to the hospital.
Khawaja said five of the injured were in critical condition while four were admitted to the institute’s Burns Unit. He said ASJ Rafaqat Awan received one bullet in chest and one in the left arm.
The dead were identified as ASJ Rafaqat Ahmad Awan, Constable Mohammad Riaz, four lawyers identified as Rao Rasheed, Ameer Haider Shah, Fizza Tariq and Talib Hussain, stamp vendor Haji Sanaullah, two citizens Kamran Ali and Akmal, PAF Chief Technician Shabeer and Allama Iqbal Open University student Mian Mohammad Aslam.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the incident and directed the National Disaster Management Cell to furnish a report within 24 hours.The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice, Muhammad Anwar Kasi, has constituted an inquiry committee comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Registrar IHC to investigate the incident.
The committee will start functioning immediately and not only submit a detailed report to the court but also give its recommendations to prevent such incidents in future.Agencies add: The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Monday disowned the Islamabad district courts terrorist attack which came two days after the Taliban declared a one-month ceasefire in order to pursue the stalled peace negotiations with the government.
In a statement issued three hours after the attack, TTP spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said the Taliban had not carried out the attack and disowned an attack on polio workers in the Khyber Agency. He further said all groups operating under the TTP umbrella were bound to follow the orders of their chief Mullah Fazlullah.
He said foreign intelligence agencies, especially India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), might try to aggravate the situation. He said some local spy outfits didn’t want the negotiations to succeed. He said it was not their responsibility to trace behind-the-scene hands.
Reposing full confidence in the committee representing the Taliban to broker peace talks, he said the government should also express seriousness after the ceasefire announcement.Meanwhile, lawyers in Lahore boycotted the courts in protest against the terrorist attack at the Islamabad district courts.
The Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association, Punjab Bar Council, Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar Association held a joint emergency meeting at the LHCBA’S Kiyani Hall here.
As the LHCBA commenced its meeting, LHC Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial along with fellow judges reached the bar and condemned the incident in the strongest words.Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said courts premises were a sanctuary of peace and tranquility for the aggrieved persons and lawyers and security agencies were responsible for maintaining law and order in the courts.
The speakers condemned the incident and said Pakistan was in a state of war as terrorists had besieged their homeland. They said terrorists always violated the ceasefire and the democratic government should cope with them with an iron hand.
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain, former President Asif Ali Zardari, PPPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, PTI chief Imran Khan, ANP Senator Haji Mohammad Adeel and the Taliban committee members Professor Ibrahim and Maulana Yousaf Shah condemned the terrorist attack at the Islamabad district courts in the strongest terms.
Maulana Yousaf Shah expressed the hope that the dialogue process will succeed as both the sides had announced a ceasefire. He claimed that the Taliban were not involved in the incident as they had clearly expressed disassociation from the incident. Maulana Yousaf Shah further said if the Taliban violated the ceasefire, they would defy the Shariah.He said many anti-state forces were working in the country and security forces will have to dig them out to establish peace in the country.
