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Parcel bomb injures MNA, three relatives
By S. Raza
Hassan Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, along with Sindh Law Minister Ayaz Soomro, enquires about the health of MNA Mir Yaqub Bizenjo. - APP photo KARACHI: A legislator from Balochistan, three of his relatives and a servant were injured after a parcel bomb went off in his Defence Society house on Friday. The explosion took place at the residence of Mir Yaqub Bizenjo, a member of the National Assembly and the Balochistan National Party (Awami). According to a report from Washington, a similar name figured in a list of drug barons released last week by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Later the White House issued an order signed by President Barack Obama seeking sanctions against four alleged drug smugglers from Pakistan, Colombia, Venezuela and Afghanistan under a federal law known as the Kingpin Act. Mr Bizenjo himself has not commented on the report. Sanaullah, the MNA’s younger brother, bore the brunt of the explosion as he opened up the parcel. Yaqub Bizenjo’s mother and a five-year-old daughter also suffered injuries. The three, along with the servant, were taken to a hospital. However, according to the hospital, no one had suffered life-threatening injuries. A senior police officer told Dawn that three days ago a parcel was delivered at the Turbat (Balochistan) house of Mr Bizenjo. Another parcel was delivered later. The servant at the Turbat House telephoned Mr Bizenjo to inform him about the parcels. The MNA told Arif, the servant at the Defence Society house, to collect the parcels from the Hub office of a firm which operates a coach service. Investigators said that since Mr Bizenjo had ‘some sort of partnership’ with the coach service, which runs coaches between Turbat and Hub, the parcels were sent from the Turbat house to the Hub office of the firm. Investigators said the larger of the two parcels was sent from Islamabad. It contained publications of the National Assembly’s secretariat. The other parcel, shaped like a tissue paper box, exploded when it was opened by Sanaullah Bizenjo, the MNA’s brother. AD Khawaja, DIG South, told Dawn that a metal casing inside the box contained the explosives. The device was of local make and weighed between 150 and 200 grams, SSP (Investigation) South Dr Amir Shaikh said. The parcel carrying the explosives was addressed to Imam Bheel, the MNA’s father, police said. They said initial investigations suggested the package which exploded was sent from Turbat, police said, quoting the occupants of the lawmaker’s Turbat house. Senior Investigators questioned the guard of the Turbat house, Zahid, by telephone. According to him, the man who delivered the parcel appeared to be a postman. The DIG South told Dawn the family told police that both the parcels were delivered simultaneously. However, employees of the coach service said the parcels were received on different dates. The larger parcel, which contained books, was received from Turbat on Thursday while the smaller parcel arrived on Friday. Mr Bizenjo had forbidden his employees from opening any of the parcels, the DIG said. The Darakhshan police registered a case under the Explosives Substance Act, the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorist Act on the complaint of Muhammad Arif, the servant who brought the packages from Hub. DEGREE CHALLENGED: The Karachi University had earlier this year declared as fake the graduation degree of Mr Bizenjo. The university had conducted an inquiry on a request of former education minister Zubaida Jalal. After the university made its conclusion public, she challenged the election of Mr Bizenjo as MNA in the Balochistan High Court. The court had also summoned KU officials during a hearing. A verdict is pending. DAWN: Saturday, 06 Jun, 2009 |
