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Posted by admin in Pakistan-A Nation of Hope on March 5th, 2014
Eyewitness and lawyer Mohammad Bilal describes what he saw
At least 11 people have been killed in an attack at a court in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, officials say.
Gunmen burst into the court complex and opened fire before at least two suicide bombers detonated explosives, at a time of the morning when crowds gather.
A judge and several lawyers are reported to be among those killed and at least 24 people were wounded.
A group called Ahrarul Hind said it carried out the attack – one of the deadliest in the capital for years.
As we walked through the alleyways, pools of blood spilled out of different offices where gunmen had indiscriminately opened fire on lawyers and their clients, according to witnesses.
Commandos and paramilitary troops cleared the area, going from room to room looking for victims and assailants.
Shattered glass from broken windows were strewn along the cobblestone alleys. Forensic officers examined the remains of a suicide bomber outside a court where a judge was killed.
The stench of burnt flesh lingered as drizzle began washing away the blood that had collected under the rubble.
It comes after a weekend in which the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) pledged a month-long ceasefire and the government said it would suspend air strikes against militants.
Both are moves aimed at reviving the stalled peace process.
The TTP have denied having anything to do with this attack, but the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad points out that it sits at the helm of a loose network of territorially independent militant groups who have different agendas. Not all of them will favour peace talks.
However, a spokesman for the little-known Ahrarul Hind group, Asad Mansoor, told BBC Urdu that his group had carried out the attack.
Mansoor said his group was never part of the TTP and hence not part of any ceasefire with the government.
Police officials have described this as a complex attack.
Officials say an unknown number of gunmen, thought to be armed with grenades as well as AK47 assault rifles, stormed the area where judges’ chambers and lawyers’ offices are located, a convoluted maze of corridors and walkways.
The injured were transported to nearby hospitals – at least 24 are thought to have been wounded
Islamabad police chief Sikandar Hayat told reporters that two of the attackers blew themselves up when surrounded by police.
Schools evacuated
Pakistani TV showed footage of the area with windows blown out, walls broken and people carrying the dead and wounded from the buildings.
Policemen with weapons raised were seen running into the area. It is unclear if any of the attackers have been captured by police.
The area has been cordoned off and local schools evacuated.
Correspondents say the attack has shocked many in the city, which has not seen violence on this scale since 2008 when an attack on the Marriott hotel left 40 dead.
Islamabad has largely been spared the militancy that has beset other areas of Pakistan in recent years.
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