One killed, 16 hurt in grenade attack on Karachi Imambargah

The News 20 September 2013 KARACHI: A man was killed and around 16 others injured, some of them seriously, when a hand grenade was lobbed at an Imambargah in the Majeed Colony area of Landhi on Thursday night, police and hospital sources said. People had gathered to get free food (Niaz) in the courtyard of the Hussainia Sajjadia Imambargah during a gathering when a hand grenade lobbed from outside exploded. Police said the incident took place near Gulbahar Chowk in Sector-2, Majeed Colony, at a time when there was an electricity shutdown in the area so nobody saw the attackers, who were able to flee after throwing the grenade at the Imambargah. “One man has been confirmed dead and around 16 others have been injured in what appears to be a grenade attack at an Imambargah in Landhi,” DIG East Munir Sheikh told The News. He said two or three of the injured were in a critical condition. “SHO Quaidabad Zahir Shah and Head Moharrar of the Quaidabad police station have been reverted and suspended for negligence and dereliction of duty,” the DIG East said. Following the incident, armed men resorted to aerial firing in Soldier Bazaar, Rizvia and some other localities in the city, causing fear and panic among the people and forcing shops and eateries to close down. Deputy Executive Director of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) Dr Seemi Jamali confirmed that Zakir Hussain, 35, was brought dead along with 16 injured with pellet wounds on their bodies. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Central Secretary General Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen Allama Nasir Abbas strongly condemned the attack on an Imambargah in the Landhi area. Taking notice of the incident, the Sindh CM asked IGP Sindh Shahid Nadeem Baloch to present him a report about the incident within 24 hours, arrest culprits without any delay and provide all possible health facilities to wounded persons at the hospitals. Allama Nasir Abbas termed the blast as failure of law enforcing agencies in protecting worship places and demanded the authorities to immediately arrest the culprits involved in the sectarian attack