A car bomb outside the Peshawar High Court (PHC) building killed a court employee and injured eight people, including a six-year-old child selling juice, on Tuesday. Peshawar police chief Abdul Majeed Marwat said that the blast was caused by a time-bomb weighing three kilograms. Hukam Khan of the Bomb Disposal Squad said the bomb was planted in a Suzuki car. The blast followed an anonymous phone call eight days ago warning that two suicide bombers in lawyersÂ’ suits had entered the court building.
The injured juice seller, Tilawat Shah, told Daily Times that a young and clean-shaven man parked the car near him at around 10:35am and ran towards the PHCÂ’s main gate. He said the bomb exploded soon after he left the car. The blast also damaged six cars in the parking lot and smashed windows. One of the injured, PHC employee Nihad Ali, died of his injuries.
SSP (Investigation) Qazi Jamilur Rehman said that it was too early to comment on the identity or motive of the attackers, but police had started investigating and collected the wreckage of the car. NWFP Information Minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai said “hidden forces” were behind the attack and it was aimed at damaging the MMA government’s reputation.
| Musn't let a few deaders and a panicked judiciary sully the otherwise pristine reputation of the MMA, now can we? |