RAWALPINDI: Seven people were injured, one of them critically, when an explosive device was detonated in the busy Saddar Bazaar at about 10.30pm here on Thursday.

Initial reports suggested the device containing low-intensity explosives had been placed under a motorcycle parked outside a shop in Chhota Bazaar, Saddar.

The sound of the explosion was heard miles away, spreading fear among shopkeepers and shoppers alike. CCTV footage showed the blast set off a blaze.

However, luckily a majority of the shops in the bazaar were closed at the time of the incident; otherwise the number of victims would have been greater.

Ball bearings were recovered from the scene and there was a small crater at the place where the device had been placed.

Those who were injured in the incident included Naseem Ashraf, 50, Ashraf Haq, 70, Muhammad Atif, 18, Muhammad Sajjad, 21, Naveed Hussain, 17, and Mudabbir, 32.

City Police Officer Muhammad Ahsan Younas said: “It was a cracker explosion in which pellets were used. The device was placed under a motorcycle parked outside a shop.”

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2020