ISLAMABAD, May 27: Twenty people, including a suspected suicide bomber, were killed and nearly 100 others injured in a powerful explosion during a crowded Majlis at the Bari Imam shrine here on Friday, police and hospital authorities said. Casualty figures may rise as 12 of the injured were said to be in critical condition in different hospitals of Islamabad. Seven of the critically wounded were operated upon at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS)

Security guards and witnesses said that some 8,000 to 10,000 followers of both Sunni and Shia sects were attending the Majlis when a bearded man of medium height and dark complexion walked up to the stage and blew himself up.

“The suicide bomber tossed up in the air like a big ball of fire and his body disintegrated. The scene was like a slaughterhouse with body parts scattered everywhere. It was terrible,” Mohammad Asif, suffering shrapnel wounds, said from a hospital bed.

A police official posted a few yards from the Majlis said: “After the blast, a tall plume of fire went up in the sky and several people were killed.” Charred bodies beyond identification were found at the scene of the blast. The upper part of the body of a man believed to be the suicide bomber was also found lying a few yards from the blast site.

Extra police were present on the premises of the shrine on Friday in connection with the last ceremony of Bari Imam Urs when the suicide attacker struck at about 11am. Tehrik-i-Nifaz Fiqah Jafaria chief Hamid Ali Moosvi was scheduled to attend the Majlis, but he could not come to the shrine located in the vicinity of the diplomatic enclave.

TNFJ information secretary Syed Qamar Haider Zaidi said that as Tehrik’s district president Allama Raja Basharat entered the Majlis, the bomber blew himself up nearly 10 feet from the stage.

“The suicide bomber’s head was tossed up in the air and there were many casualties,” Mr Zaidi said. He condemned the attack and demanded that the government should strictly impose the ban on extremist groups.

Police used teargas and resorted to baton-charge when angry devotees pelted the personnel of law-enforcement agencies with stones and damaged a police van, witnesses said.

When asked by this reporter if the suicide attack was a security lapse, SSP Islamabad Liaquat Ali Khan said plainclothesmen had been deployed around the Majlis. The SSP said that the weight of the explosive device used by the suicide attacker could not be known.

Ambulances and police vehicles rushed to the scene and a state of emergency was declared in all the hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Official sources said 19 people were killed and 80 others were injured. But Edhi sources put the death toll at about 50 with 200 wounded.

Meanwhile, the capital police have released a sketch of the suspected suicide bomber and announced a reward of Rs500,000 for the person who provided information about the attacker.

In another development, a joint investigation team comprising officials of the FIA’s Special Investigation Group, CID Punjab and Islamabad police has been formed to investigate the attack.

The injured and the bodies of the deceased were taken to four hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Bodies of Mohammad Sarwar, Khizar Abbas, Asad Abbas, Ijaz Hussain Shah, an employee of the atomic energy commission; Ubdar Hussain Shah, Allah Ditta, Haji Mohammad Ayub, Latifullah, an army personnel; Abdul Qudoos, Shamsur Rehman, Niaz Hussain Shah, Abdal Hussain Shah and four others yet to be identified were sent to PIMS.

A body, identified as Mukhtar Hussain, was taken to the Capital Hospital.

About 54 of the injured were brought to PIMS, six to the Capital Hospital and 21 were taken to the Federal Government Services Hospital. One injured was shifted to the Rawalpindi General Hospital. The victims with minor injuries were allowed to go home after first-aid.

PRESS NOTE: Meanwhile, a press note issued by the district magistrate said: “When a Majlis-i-Aza was being held in the compound of Hazrat Bari Imam (RA) shrine at Noorpur Shahan Islamabad, an unknown person suddenly entered the premises of the shrine and attempted to embrace the speaker.

“A bomb blast took place in the Majlis-i-Aza as a result of which 18 persons, including the possible suicide bomber, were killed at the spot whereas 67 persons sustained injuries”.

The press note further said: “Soon after the occurrence, the mob present at the shrine got infuriated and started pelting the police officials on duty with stones. Three police officials were injured and were shifted to various hospitals of the city for treatment. However, the district administration immediately pacified the mob and brought the situation under control, it added.