Army chief arrives in Karachi after bus attack

KARACHI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has arrived in Karachi after the terrorist attack on an Ismaili community bus claimed the lives of 45 people.

According to the ISPR, the Army chief arrived in the city to evaluate the situation following the attack.

Army chief General Raheel Sharif is holding a high-level meeting of military officials at the Corp Headquarters in Karachi. The meeting is being attended by DG ISI, DG Rangers and Corps Commander Karachi.

Sources said the Army chief has been briefed on the Safoora Chowrangi attack.

Earlier, the COAS cancelled his pre-scheduled visit to Sri Lanka after the attack, DG ISPR Asim Bajwa said in a message sent earlier on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has spoken to DG Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar. The DG told the minister that the paramilitary force is trying to arrest the attackers on the basis of evidence gathered by investigators so far.

Gunmen on motorcycles stopped the bus shortly after its departure in the Safoora Chowrangi area of the city. The gunmen boarded the bus and opened fire killing 45 people.

"There were six attackers. They boarded the bus and carried out the shooting," Police Superintendent Najib Khan said.

A member of the Ismaili community said the bus would pick and drop people from work on a daily basis.