GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan police on Saturday claimed to have recovered four locally made bombs planted at different places along the Karakoram Highway, but the devices turned out to be instruments of a project launched by some students in collaboration with the Karakoram International University’s environmental science department to get information about earthquakes and aftershocks in the region in a bid to issue early warning of natural disasters.

These instruments were fixed at various points along the KKH from Khunjerab to Mansehra district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The false claim of police to recover bombs near Gilgit city during the sensitive days of Muharram created unrest among the local people.

On early Saturday morning, the Gilgit police informed the local media that they along with bomb disposal squad had recovered four homemade bombs from Manawar area near Gilgit city.

Some TV channels aired the news which created panic and uncertainty among the local residents.

The administration and police also called a press conference to inform public about the terrorist plan and bomb recovery. However, the sources said, when police examined the devices they found that they were not the bombs, the press conference had to be cancelled at the eleventh hour.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2016