KARACHI: Corps commander Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar has said that attacks on armed forces and law enforcement agencies will not affect the pace of Karachi operation that will continue till the restoration of a sustainable peace to the city.

“Their [personnel of armed forces and law enforcement agencies] sacrifices would not go waste,” he told reporters on Saturday after attending the funeral of two Rangers soldiers who were killed in a suicide attack on their van in North Nazimabad on Friday evening.

“They have sacrificed their lives for a great cause, to bring peace. Let me assure you that their sacrifice will bear fruit and the operation in the city will continue as such attacks cannot deter our forces and soldiers. We will take this [Karachi] operation to its logical end,” the general said.

Earlier, the corps commander along with Rangers director general Major General Bilal Akbar and other officers of the army and paramilitary force attended the funeral of 32-year-old Yar Mohammad and 36-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Qasim at the Rangers Headquarters on the Superhighway.

Family members of the two victims were also present.

The bodies of Yar Mohammad and Ghulam Mohammad Qasim were later moved to their native towns in Dadu and Multan, respectively.

Meanwhile, a case was registered at the Shahrah-i-Noor Jehan police station against unidentified attackers for the blast under the anti-terror law.

Police investigators said efforts were on to determine identity of the suicide attacker as that would set further course of investigation.

“Samples from the remains have been sent to a laboratory for DNA profiling,” said an official of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) tasked with the investigation job.

“The police have not found a head or facial part of the attacker at the crime scene. According to bomb disposal unit reports, it was a suicide attack and our probe relies on their findings.”

Mosque blast

In district south, the CTD team with bomb disposal unit officials again visited the Bohra community mosque where at least two people were killed and five others injured in a bomb attack on Friday.

“The two incidents have no links,” said the CTD official.

“The Arambagh attack was actually carried out through an improvised explosive device attached to a motorcycle parked outside the mosque, which was detonated through a time device.”

Explosive and other substance used in the two attacks were totally different from each other, he said. The investigators had also collected footage recorded by some people through their mobile phones soon after the blast outside the mosque, he added.

Sensitive places safety

After the Friday bomb attacks, the Karachi police called the Special Security Unit at 30 sensitive places, including government buildings and business centres, in the city for their security.

“SSU commandos have been deployed at 30 sensitive places that included some government buildings and key installations,” said SP SSU Rana Shoaib. “Other than that more than 15 SSU mobiles are on patrol and also conducting flag march on key routes of the city to convey a message of security and boost the morale of people as it was considered crucial after the Friday bomb attacks.”

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2015

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