Grenade attack on road housing schools in Karachi's Gulshan-i-Iqbal
KARACHI: Unknown motorcyclists hurled a grenade on a road that houses a number of private schools in Karachi's Gulshan-i-Iqbal Block 7 area Tuesday morning causing fear and panic among area residents though no loss of life or property was reported in the incident.
DIG-East Munir Sheikh said that no school was directly targeted in the attack.
He further said that there were no casualties reported as the schools were closed at the time and no students or staff members were present at the premises.
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The attackers also left a threat letter before escaping from the scene.
An administrative source associated with a private school situated near the blast site told Dawn that academic activities of all schools in the vicinity had been suspended for the day.
He added that further course of action would be taken by the administration of the 27 schools in the locality after consulting with security agencies.
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He said the purpose of the attack was to stoke fear and panic among the schoolchildren's parents.
The source expressed confidence in the probe being conducted by security agencies and said that CCTV footage from several schools had been collected in this regard.
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Security and emergency teams reached the site and cordoned off the area. One track of the University Road was blocked after the incident which caused a traffic snarl up in the area.
A Bomb Disposal Squad official said that there were no ball bearings used in the bomb.
Director General Rangers Maj-Gen Bilal Akbar also visited the blast site.
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Provincial education minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro took notice of the blast and sought a report over the incident from Additional Inspector General (AIG) Karachi police.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain also condemned the incident.
The grenade attack came soon after two convicted killers affiliated with Lashkar-i-Jhangvi were executed at the central prison in Karachi.
Following the carnage at the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16 which had claimed the lives of more than 150 people including 141 school children, the winter vacations of schools were extended by the government for security reasons.
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The Sindh government had announced that only those schools should reopen for classes where foolproof security arrangements have been made. It also decided to implement a ‘short-term security plan’ for all educational institutions in the metropolis.
In another unrelated incident, a Rangers vehicle was targeted in an explosion in Karachi's Site area. There was no loss of life or property reported in the incident.
Security sources said that a Rangers vehicle was on routine patrol when it was targeted by a bomb which was planted in a block. The bomb was detonated as soon as the Rangers vehicle passed near it.
— Mohammad Raza and Imran Khan contributed to reporting