Suicide attacker of Karachi shrine identified

KARACHI - As an extensive investigation continues into Thursday’s twin blasts at a shrine here that killed nine people, authorities said one of the suicide attackers had been identified.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that “the attacker has been identified from his body parts and he belonged to the Mehsud tribe”. “Such incidents can’t deter our resolve in the war against terrorism,” he said, adding that “these terrorists are a blot on the name of Muslims”.

“Mehsuds” are an influential clan in the Waziristan area along the Afghanistan border in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Pakistani army is involved in an offensive against Taliban militants. Most of the terrorist attacks in the country are believed to have been carried out by the Taliban, who also claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack in Karachi.

The twin blasts targeting the shrine of 8th century Sufi saint Abdullah Shah Ghazi also injured 55 people. The first blast was carried out at the walk-through gate to break the security cordon, while the second occurred at the stairs of the shrine, where hundreds of devotees were present.

Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who visited the blast site Friday evening, said: “We have been warning that the Taliban can target Karachi. Several suspects have been arrested for planning such strikes in the province during the last few months.”

“The terrorists (who attacked Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine) could not be captured by the CCTV cameras,” he said in response to a question.

Meanwhile, all the shrines in Sindh, including the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, remained closed for security concerns Friday. “We have decided to re-open from Saturday and the security of the shrines would be enhanced considerable,” said Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza.