KARACHI, Oct 16: The police picked up the officials of Pakistan Post Office and a private courier service for interrogation in the aftermath of three parcel bomb explosions in the city on Wednesday.
The bomb explosions took place in the offices of some higher police officials, including the offices of an SP and two DSPs.
“We have taken into custody a man who delivered a parcel to the DIG Operations office”, said the home secretary Brig Mukhtar Ahmed, in a press briefing at his office following blasts.
The home secretary termed it an act of terrorism and said for the first time, the offices of law-enforcement agencies had been made a target, but said it was not a modern technique.
He said the police have got some clues and investigations were being made on the right way.
He said some terrorists were arrested in the recent past and lethal weapons were also recovered from them.
He said it was premature to say as to who had perpetrated these attacks and investigations were in progress and the police were probing all aspects.
Later, talking to newsmen, IGP Sindh Syed Kamal Shah, said: “We are looking into all aspects. We have picked up a man, identified as Taj Mohammad, who delivered a parcel bomb at the DIG Operations office. Besides, we are also collecting information from the post office officials, who had booked these parcels”.
“The message is to demoralise the police.”
The terrorists wanted to give a message that the police should not take action against them, otherwise they would perpetrate explosions, he said, adding “we will accelerate our efforts to continue to curb terrorism.”
He said all the courier services and the Pakistan Post Office had been informed that they should observe extreme care while receiving parcels.
The people should also not receive any parcels etc until they were not sure about the sender, he said, adding if anybody receives a suspicious parcel, he should immediately inform the police.
“We will send experts, who will examine the parcel,” he added.
He said it was premature to say as to who was involved in these blasts. However, all those officials, who were associated with the operation against terrorists and the culprits involved in sectarian killings, were made a target of the parcel bombs.
He said most of these officials had been promoted recently for their good work to curb terrorism and they had arrested terrorists.
It was an attempt to demoralise the officials but after this attack, the police would take action against terrorism with more vigour, he said.
About the nature of explosions, he said a ribbon was common in all parcel bombs because and as soon as the ribbon was untied, the explosion took place.
He said four parcel bombs were booked at the Saddar post office under Urgent Mail Service (UMS) and some others were booked at Sharea Faisal post office. The post office had given these parcels to the Shaheen Courier Service for their onward delivery.
The sources said a parcel bomb, which was sent to DSP Khurram Waris, remained undelivered. The police taken this parcel in their custody.
They said most of the officials, who had been made a target, were especially those in the CID who had been promoted to the upper ranks as they had arrested alleged terrorists. They include SP Zulfiqar Junejo, DSP Mohammad Fayyaz and DSP Khurram.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Navy told Dawn that the IGP had requested the Commander Karachi to depute a team of experts to defuse the bombs.
He said a team of Navy, comprising three officers and seven bomb experts, headed by Captain Aslam Rana, was sent to the office of CID Civil Lines, where the officials defused four parcel bombs.
The sources said the police did not have bomb experts who could defuse the parcel bombs.
PROBE TEAMS: Three special investigation teams to probe the parcel bomb explosions were constituted on Wednesday, which would work under the supervision of the DIG for investigation.
In a press release issued on Wednesday night, a spokesman for the Sindh police said these teams would be assisted by the operation branch, the crime investigation department and the special branch. The DIG (investigation) will report to the capital city police chief.
He said three parcel bombs exploded from 1pm to 2:15pm. Five other parcel bombs received in various offices were traced by the police. Four of them were defused by the bomb disposal experts of the army and the navy. The experts of the armed forces were examining the devices, he added.
KARACHI, Oct 16: The police picked up the officials of Pakistan Post Office and a private courier service for interrogation in the aftermath of three parcel bomb explosions in the city on Wednesday.
