Islamabad: The suicide bomber who detonated explosives during a “surprise” check in Islamabad, “looked like an Afghan” with long hair and was sitting in the back seat of a cab, according to the FIR registered in connection to the attack.
The FIR registered at the Counter Terrorism Department (CDT) police station in Islamabad was based on a statement given by Constable Muhammad Hanif of the Eagle Squad, who was deployed on the road on Friday for surprise snap-checking to prevent rising incidents of snatching, Samaa News reported.
Hanif said that the squad included Head Constable Adeel Hussain and Head Constable Muhammad Yousaf and Constable Bilal Ahmed and ASI Raza Hasan and his driver in a police van.
The police included sections relating to murder, attempted murder, and facilitation of murder along with anti-terrorism sections in the FIR.
Constable Hanif in the FIR stated that they had set up a surprise check post on the heavily frequented service road when they hailed a yellow cab.
Yellow cabs are fairly common in the federal capital.
Hanif said that he was holding a rifle and was stationed a little distance from the road providing security to the other officers, Samaa News reported.
He said that when the cab approached, Hassan motioned it to stop and approached the vehicle to ask for the identification documents of the car’s driver and that of the car.
As he was checking the documents, he saw a long-haired passenger sitting in the back seat who looked like an Afghan national.
Hassan called out to Head Constable Yousaf and Constable Ahmed to search the passenger. As the two officials moved to check the passenger he detonated the explosives, Samaa News reported.
The blast, Hanif said, was so severe that it severely damaged the nearby houses and parked cars. The blast also severely injured Head Constable Hassan while it killed the occupants of the vehicle.
Public gatherings banned for 2 weeks
The District Magistrate of Islamabad said that all public gatherings and meetings will be banned for two weeks.
In a notification late Friday, Irfan Nawaz Memon as well as the deputy commissioner of Islamabad, said that in the light of recent advisories and threat alerts issued by the law enforcement agencies, and the attack on police, all kinds of corner meetings, gatherings and congregations in Islamabad will be prohibited for two weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.
He said the security of the capital has been beefed up to obviate the threats which can disrupt peace and tranquility causing damage to life and property, but the likelihood of such activities cannot be ruled out in the coming days.
“Thus immediate prevention and speedy remedy were required, and directions appearing were necessary to protect public life and property,” the notification added.
Political meetings at public places for the local body elections to be held on December 31 have also been prohibited.
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
