RAWALPINDI: A live hand grenade has been recovered from the dera of slain Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada, which collapsed in a bombing on August 16.

The bomb disposal squad (BDS) was called in to defuse the hand-grenade.

The grenade was discovered during the clearing of the compound on Saturday.

A senior security official said that the suicide bomber might have been carrying the hand grenade, which remained undetonated.

“The hand grenade could have been thrown towards the target in case the suicide vest failed to detonate,” the official said, adding that since the Counterterrorism Department (CTD) did not have any bomb disposal experts, the hand grenade was handed over to the Civil Defense department.

More evidence – including rubble containing explosives, and the remains of an animal, were collected from the scene and were being analysed by the experts to ascertain the intensity and exact quantity of the explosive used.

In addition, a security guard of the DSP identified as Sajjad Khan was released from Benazir Bhutto Hospital on Sunday.

The DSP, Shaukat Ali Shah, was killed in the attack.

The guard was among five victims of the Attock bombing who were brought to Rawalpindi hospitals.

Two of the victims, identified as Abdul Qayoom and Mohammad Zaman, succumbed to their injuries upon reaching the hospital.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2015

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