Police register terrorism case against driver in Karachi's DHA imambargah car crash

KARACHI: Police on Monday registered a terrorism case against the driver of a van that crashed into a tent of mourners outside an imambargah in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) a day earlier.

A Suzuki pick-up had rammed into a tent outside Masjid-o-Imam Bargah Baqiyatullah on Saba Avenue in Phase VI, where mourners were attending a Muharram majlis. It resulted in the death of a teenage girl and injured 19 other mourners.

Three of the driver’s companions were also named in the first information report (FIR) registered on the complaint of the imambargah’s security head, South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said on Monday.

The case has been transferred to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for investigation, added the senior officer. The DIG confirmed that a girl, identified as 14-year-old Zunaira Akram, was shifted to a private hospital on Sunday night but succumbed to her wounds.

Sharing details of the incident, DIG Raza said that at about 9:30pm on Sunday, a Suzuki pickup approached from Saba Avenue towards Imambargah Baqiyatullah.

“Due to its excessive speed, the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed through the security barriers installed approximately 200 meters from the imambargah for the security of the ongoing Majlis-i-Aza.

After breaching the barriers, the vehicle entered the congregation area and intruded into the tent where the gathering was in progress. The vehicle struck several attendees, resulting in injuries to 20 mourners.

The South DIG said the police immediately responded and shifted all injured persons to different hospitals for medical treatment.

He recalled that police personnel and scouts had been deployed at the location as part of the security arrangements.

The driver of the Suzuki pickup and his three companions, who had also sustained injuries and were under treatment at a hospital, have been taken into custody, DIG Raza confirmed.

The senior officer further said the police promptly called the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) to thoroughly examine the vehicle.

CCTV footage and other relevant evidence were being collected to ascertain the facts of the incident.

Providing details of the victims, he said 18 18 injured mourners had been taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and two to private hospitals.

Out of these 20, five were treated for minor injuries and were discharged immediately.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said among the injured persons admitted at the JPMC, the condition of an unidentified man in his 30s was critical.

FIR alleges ‘pre-planned scheme’

The FIR filed by the imambargah’s security head accused the vehicle of deliberately breaking through the barriers and the tent under a “pre-planned scheme and criminal conspiracy”.

He contended that the vehicle, driven at reckless speed with malicious intent, crashed directly into the seated mourners — including men, women and children — with a “planned and deliberate attempt” to cause harm.

“The act was not accidental but a deliberate rehearsal of a larger terrorist action, as constant threats have been emanating from banned outfits and sectarian organisations raising anti-Shia sentiments,” the FIR claimed.

It also referred to a video recording of the incident circulating on social media, which it said showed that the incident was “intentional and targeted at the Shia religious gathering”.

The FIR identified the accused driver as Mohammed Zahid and three other companions as Bahadur Saeed, Momin Khan and Arsalan alias Nadan.

Asserting that the act was intended to cause harm and spread fear, the complainant said it constituted offences under the PPC and the ATA and termed it “sectarian terrorism”.

While the FIR accused the driver and his companions of having links with banned outfits, DIG Raza told Dawn that during the initial probe, it transpired that two of the held persons had a past criminal record and were allegedly drug abusers. ...