Bureau Report
Karachi: At least one person was killed and eight injured in a blast in Karachi’s bustling Saddar area late Thursday night, said City Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab.
The explosion, reportedly near United Bakery, caused substantive damage to property, including vehicles, in the area.
Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar informed Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah that an improvised explosive device (IED) was used, said the latter’s spokesperson in a statement.
According to the preliminary probe report, it appeared that the IED was attached to a motorbike, the IGP was quoted as saying.
Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon told Dawn that the nature of the explosion was being determined. Shah took notice of the incident and sought a report from the city police chief and Karachi commissioner while also declaring an emergency at two nearby hospitals, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and Karachi Civil Hospital. A team of the Bomb Disposal Squad as well as officials of the police’s Counter-Terrorism Department reached the site of the blast to conduct an investigation.
The incident comes less than a month after a suicide bombing at the Karachi University Confucius Institute killed three Chinese academics and their local van driver. The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the attack.
