- Title: PAKISTAN: Injured treated in hospital after court attack kills at least 11
- Date: 3rd March 2014
- Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (MARCH 3, 2014) (REUTERS) POLICEMAN RUNNING TOWARDS COURTS FROM WHERE SOUNDS OF FIRING CAN BE HEARD LAWYERS RUNNING OUT OF COURT PREMISES SOLDIERS ARRIVING AT ATTACK SITE LAWYERS GATHERED TO HELP INJURED COLLEAGUES SOLDIERS ON GUARD LAWYERS CARRYING INJURED COLLEAGUE ON STRETCHER LAWYERS CARRYING ANOTHER INJURED COLLEAGUE/ PUTTING HIM INTO AMBULANCE AMB
- Embargoed: 18th March 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Crime
- Reuters ID: LVACR8YX8DDRNT6DI8FBX8H5JQ32
- Story Text: The injured were rushed to hospital on Monday (March 3) after gunmen burst into a court in a busy shopping area in the heart of Pakistan's capital killing at least 11 people in a suicide-bomb and gun attack likely to shatter any prospect of meaningful peace talks with Taliban insurgents.
The Pakistani Taliban, who have declared a month-long ceasefire to pursue peace talks with the government, immediately distanced themselves from the attack as well as a separate blast on the Afghan border which killed two soldiers.
An explosion reverberated in central Islamabad just after 9 a.m. (0400 GMT) followed by bursts of gunfire. Police said at least 30 were wounded.
"At this time we have 34 casualties with us, out of whom 11 have unfortunately died. A majority of them are lawyers, and mostly young lawyers. Ninety percent of the injuries are gunshot injuries, bullet injuries, mostly entry wounds from Kalashnikovs and 9mm guns. Around thirteen have punctured lungs. Most of them have chest injuries. Some have fractured legs, complex type of injuries," said Javaid Akram, a spokesman for the Pakistan Institute Of Medical Sciences where the victims were taken.
A judge was among those killed. The judge, Rafaqat Awan, was killed on the spot. He had rejected a petition last year to file a murder case against former President Perzez Musharraf over his order to storm a hardline mosque in Islamabad in 2007. Many radical Islamists hold a grudge against Musharraf over the storming in which more than 100 people were killed, and any official seen as obstructing their fight for justice is likely to be on their hit list.
During Monday's attack, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the courtroom where a hearing had just started, police said.
Two other attackers were killed in the ensuing gun fight with police. Police said gunmen fired at random targets in the area after the initial explosion.
Shortly afterwards, police blocked entry and exit points to the area, a maze of narrow, dusty streets lined with one-room shops and offices.
Commandos in camouflage knocked on doors and secured street corners as they combed the area for more militants. Police secured the area an hour later and the market resumed normal operations.
At the court, broken glass and charred human remains littered the site of the blast at the F8 market area as residents and police rushed around in bloodstained clothes.
Dozens of distraught colleagues and relatives of the victims gathered outside the mortuary where the dead bodies had been kept.
"Today is the black day for our legal fraternity, because today the terrorists have attacked on the place which is considered to be the safest place in Islamabad. One of our additional sessions judges, Mr. Rafaqat Awan, was martyred, and many of our other lawyers -from whom I have seen the dead body of Rao Rasheed who was one of the senior lawyers of our Bar Association - he was martyred. And many other lawyers who are in a very critical position in the emergency," said lawyer Shahzad Sadiq Alvi.
Bomb attacks are rare in Islamabad, the leafy and hilly seat of Pakistan's government.
Even as the Taliban declared willingness to talk peace, almost daily attacks have continued around Pakistan in past weeks, showing that the central Taliban leadership is not entirely in control of its operations.
The Taliban, a fragmented group consisting of dozens of smaller bands of militants, said at the weekend they would observe a one-month ceasefire to try to revive peace talks and called on all groups to observe it.
Talks broke down last month after a series of attacks and counter-attacks by the army and insurgents.
Observers say striking a deal with the central leadership would not stop the violence because many fridge militant groups operate independently from the central Taliban command.
The Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting to bring down the Pakistani state, are allied with, but separate from, the Afghan Taliban. The Afghan Taliban are fighting to expel foreign forces from Afghanistan and do not fight Pakistani security forces. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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