May 05, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1428

CHARSADDA/MARDAN, May 4: Two bomb blasts in Charsadda destroyed seven CD shops, a cycle workshop and a hair-cutting saloon on Friday. Another two bombs went off near the main gate of a school in a Gujarat village in Mardan.

The first explosion occurred at the Ayaz Market in the Charsadda Old Bazaar at about 1.30 destoying four CD shops and a bicycle shop.

The second blast took place in the Wawa Khan Market in Tangi tehsil destroying three CD shops and a hair-cutting saloon.

Charsadda’s district police officer Feroz Shah said the locally-made bombs weighed about two kgs each.

He said a similar bomb found on the Nissatta Road was defused.

In the Charsadda district, girls’ schools, video shop owners and barbers have been receiving threatening letters from an unknown organisation for some time, calling for closure of CD shops and ordering students to wear burqas.

In Mardan, two bombs went off in front of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in the village of Gujarat, destroying its main gate and damaging the power supply line.

Two watchmen of the school told Dawn that they were asleep when the explosions took place. They rushed outside and saw that the blasts had destroyed the main gate and damaged the power line.

Nazim of the Gujarat union council Nigar Khan said that the school administration had received a letter about a month ago with the warning that if the students and staff did not observe purdah the school building would be blown up within 15 days.