While religious education was being conducted in Hafiz Riaz’s house, a bomb blasted killing fifteen persons. At the time of the incident forty students were receiving education at the house.
The Frontier Post ran a report of the incident:
‘At least fifteen persons including six children, three women were killed and more than 70 wounded in a blast on Monday which took place in Chak No.129-L, police and hospital authorities said. Police chief said blast took place at a house of Hafiz Riaz at 09-52 a.m. where about 40 children were receiving religious education.
‘District Health Officer, Khanewal, Dr Muhammad Yousuf Soomra, told media that the death toll could rise further as the rubble of collapsed buildings was being dug out to find out any survivors and the dead. He said emergency had been declared at tehsil headquarter hospital, Mian Channu, where all the dead bodies and the injured victims had been shifted. The injured were rushed to hospital and 12 have been reported in critical condition.
‘DPO Khanewal Muhammad Kamran Khan said Hafiz Riaz Ahmed is missing and police is searching for him who is an activist of Tanzeem Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami. Kamran said he was taken into custody many a times because his activities were suspicious but later he was released. He said that a cassette, pumphlets of Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami, two jackets of suicide bombers, two klashinkovs, many bullets, detonators, six rockets and rocket launchers were recovered from the rubble of the home. He confirmed the death of 15 persons and said: I am in a position to confirm the death of 15 persons and 70 injured who were admitted to Khanewal, Sahiwal and Mian Channu hospitals and seriously injured persons were shifted to Nishtar Hospital, Multan, where their condition is stated to be precarious.
‘Dr. Sadiq Malhi, Medical Superintendent of THQ Hospital, Mian Chunnu, said, “There are only 39 injured in his hospital and ten dead bodies.” He told that injured persons mostly women say that they heard a big bang then their homes collapsed and they were buried under the debris.
‘“The blast occurred in a store of explosives and ammunition, dumped inside a house,†Kamran Khan told reporters. “It was a huge explosion. It has created eight feet deep and 40 feet in diameters crater on the site of the house, which is completely destroyed,†witnesses said.
‘Local sources said police and rescue teams reached the site after one and a half hour of the blast.Police said the delay was caused due to remote location of the village. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, talking to newsmen disclosed that three persons had been arrested. Around 150 houses were damaged badly by the blast that also flattened trees and left dozens of animals dead. Hundreds of villagers blocked the highway in protest against the blast jamming traffic and they demanded action against the administration and police.
‘Those killed included Ali Hassan (3) s/o Tariq, Hajran Bibi (5) d/o Muhammad Anwar, Ayesha (21) d/o Abdur Razzaq, Abdullah (13) s/o Abdur Razzaq, Ramsha (14) d/o Muhammad Ashraf, Iqra (4) d/o Muhammad Zulfiqar, Allah Ditta (17) s/o Abdur Razzaq, a three year old unknown minor girl d/o Yousuf, and an unidentified man of the age of 35 to 40 years. Dr. Haseeb of Nishtar hospital Multan said that a 55 year old person Ghulam Nabi was received dead. He said that total 20 injured have reached the emergency ward of Nishtar Hospital and three to four of them were in serious condition. The injured also included two children with head injuries including Tayyab (6) and Asadullah (4) and both were undergoing treatment at Paediatrics surgery ward. Following is the list of 42 people injured in bomb blast: Shafiq s/o Falak Sher, Humera d/o Taj Din, Nasreen wife of Muhammad Irshad, Khalida, wife of Hafiz Tahir, Ghulam Fatima, wife of Naazir Hussain, Sajida d/o Majeed, Rashida d/o Majeed, Faqeer Hussain s/o Rehmatullah, Majeedaan Bibi, Karam Bibi, Faiza, Prof. Iqbal Abid, Mrs Safia, Muhammad Waseem s/o Hameed, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Atif, Irfan s/o Afaq, Abdur Razzaq s/o Yousuf, Ashir s/o Waris, Naureen d/o Rehmatullah, Khadija d/o Aslam, Shamshad, wife of Azam, Safia, wife of Yousuf, Tahir s/o Arshad, Bano d/o Yousuf, Suhail s/o Anwar, Anwar s/o Sharif, Maqsood s/o Ghulam Muhammad, Fauzia wife of Iqbal, Muhammad Hussain s/o Ghulam Hussain, Farkhanda d/o Ashraf, Javed s/o Shafi, Shahid s/o Zahid, Azkar Hussain s/o Muhammad Hussain, Waqas s/o Ghulam Hussain, Muhammad Siddiq s/o Muhammad Rafiq, Humera, Ali s/o Mukhtar, Ismail s/o Mukhtar, Shan, Bashir, Razia Bibi d/o Muhammad Jamil and Mirza Ashfaq Ahmad s/o Hameed.’
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