ISLAMABAD: Officers investigating Friday night’s bombing at a shrine in the outskirts of Islamabad are considering multiple angles, including terrorism and rivalries, Dawn has learnt from the officials close to the investigation.
Meanwhile, one of the injured from the blast on Friday died at a hospital the next day, police said, adding that the deceased was identified as Nasir Halim, a resident of Dhok Kalakhan, who had come to attend the death anniversary at the shrine.
No concrete evidence that can establish the motive behind the incident, or help identify the perpetrators has been found yet, the investigating officials said, adding that the investigation was so far relying on ‘circumstantial evidence’.
The explosive device was planted inside the premises of the shrine on the second night of the ceremony held to commemorate the death anniversary of a local Sufi saint, Baba Nangay Shah, they said, adding that terrorists could also have used the device on the first day, when the number of the devotees present was much higher.
Authorities looking into personal enmity; terrorism not yet ruled out
The officials added that only male devotees were physically searched before entering the premises from a single entrance, while the other two entrances were blocked for security. In addition, no metal or explosive detectors were available for the shrine’s security, something, they said, might have helped the culprits being the explosives inside.
The investigators say that the militants could easily have smuggled in a larger amount of explosives, given the lax security, however they are not ruling out the possibility of terrorism.
The officials said that, in the past, a number of suspicious people had been arrested from the area based on intelligence information.
“Presence of militants has also not been rules out in the area; however, it is yet to be established, as there is no regular vigilance or intelligence gathering in the area,” they added.
Senior Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ali Nekokara, when contacted, said that the investigators were probing the incident from all the angles to establish whether it was an act of terrorism or rivalry.
The investigating officials tell of a land dispute between the shrine’s caretakers and residents of the area, adding that there was also an internal dispute over the administration of the shrine among the caretakers’ family members and relatives.
Many cases have been registered against the caretakers and their relatives, in connection with the land dispute, in Islamabad and other parts of Punjab, according to the officials. Vehari police arrested the elder brother of the present caretakers in 2011, for his alleged involvement in a cattle theft.
Investigators said that over 22 suspects, including the caretaker of the shrine and his family members, were picked up as a part of the ongoing investigation of the blast on the shrine.
Caretaker of the shrine, Zarkaiz Kiani, when contacted, neither denied nor confirmed that he had been picked up by the police, rather he said that he was being investigated by the police and intelligence agencies till wee hours. “Yes, we have dispute over lands, but almost every family has such rivalries,” he said, adding that the issues was, however, not violent enough to lead to such an attack.
The caretaker’s nephew, Iraj Kiani, also confirmed to Dawn that his family was involved in a land dispute.
Published in Dawn, June 22nd , 2014