At least 18 persons were killed and 40 injured in a suicide attack near Melody Crossing, around 300 metres from the Lal Masjid, in the capital on Sunday.
The suicide bomber, believed to be a 35-year-old bearded man, attacked a group of policemen and blew himself up minutes after conclusion of a ‘Martyrs Conference’ in the mosque. Several policemen and two officers were among those killed in the blast. The conference was being held to commemorate the first anniversary of the Army operation against clerics and students of the attached madrassa in which scores of people were killed.
The administration had allowed unhindered holding of the conference, which was attended by thousands of people from across the country. Incendiary speeches were made at the conference and the operation was denounced. A probe was demanded into the massacre and a trial of President Musharraf and others involved in the operation.
Another resolution called upon a ban on the entry of former interior minister Aftab Sherpao and religious minister Ejazul Haq into any mosque of the country.
Stringent security arrangements had been made and hundreds of policemen from Punjab and NWFP were deployed on the occasion. Around an hour prior to the conclusion of the conference, advisor to the Prime Minister on interior, Rehman Malik, visited the mosque and expressed satisfaction over the fact that peace was maintained throughout the day. Malik returned to the place after the blast.
Kamal Shah, secretary interior, rued the fact that the blast occurred despite comprehensive security arrangements.
