PESHAWAR: In the first direct attack on a media-related institution, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the entrance of the Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, leaving three people dead and 23 others injured.
‘It was a suicide bombing,’ city police chief Liaquat Ali Khan told reporters.
Remains of the bomber and a constable guarding the entrance were scattered along the driveway to the basement of the club and police searched for forensic evidences in the shattered windowpanes.
According to witnesses, the teenage bomber of fair complexion and sporting long hair exploded himself when police guard Riazuddin Khan tried to search him.
‘You want to search? Okay, search,’ a witness quoted the bomber as saying. ‘And then there was the explosion,’ Minhaj, an employee of the district security department said. He was among those injured by ball bearings and shrapnels.
According to a bomb disposal expert, the weight of the explosives used by the bomber was about 8kgs. ‘It is more than what they normally use in suicide bombings,’ Khurshid Khan said.
Another witness said the bomber wearing black clothes and a jacket was heard arguing with the guard, insisting that he be allowed to enter the club.
Those killed in the attack are Head Constable Riazuddin Khan, passerby Robina Shaheen and the club’s accountant Mian Iqbal.
Riaz had been guarding the club’s entrance for three years because journalists believed he recognised all members.
The blast took place at 11.40am when dozens of journalists were sitting in the lawn behind the main building and others in the library, cafeteria and net cafe.
Peshawar Press Club’s president Shamim Shahid said intelligence and police officials had warned the administration of a possible attack. ‘We had taken all possible steps but there is no way to stop a suicide bomber coming to explode himself.’
He said the club had stopped allowing political gatherings on its premises for security reasons.
The club has announced three days of mourning. The injured people were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital. Five of the injured were in a serious condition, a hospital official said.
The city police chief said the policeman’s death proved that security had been tightened at all sensitive places.
He said the number of casualties would have been much higher had the bomber succeeded in entering the building.
NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti condemned the attack and expressed sympathy with journalists.
He visited the club and ordered an immediate probe. He said sacrifices rendered by security personnel and journalists in the war against terrorists would not go waste.
He said the media had played a critical role in unveiling plots hatched to weaken the state and terrorists’ evil designs.
Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour, NWFP Assembly Speaker Karamatullah Chagharmatti, Sports Minister Syed Aqil Shah, Education Minister Sardar Hussain Babak and MPAs of different parties also visited the club and condemned the blast.
The US consulate in Peshawar also condemned the bombing. The administration of the press club blamed militants for the blast and vowed that they would continue to expose the terrorists who were killing innocent people in the country.
‘The mid-day suicide attack on the Peshawar Press Club is a manifestation of the militants’ threats being hurled at the journalist community over the past two years,’ president of the club Shamim Shahid said.
He paid tribute to the slain policeman. He said the attack was similar to those taking place across the country.
‘We aren’t scared of such attacks and won’t change our course. The militants want journalists to stop writing about their wrongdoings, but we will continue to show their real picture to the people,’ he said.
Mr Shahid said no-one could deny anyone the right to freedom of expression. He said people knew the militants were doing a disservice to Islam and Muslims.
PPC’s general secretary Mohammad Ali Khan said there would be no activity at the club for three days in protest against the attack. He said the incident had strengthened the resolve of local journalists.
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