The News International Pakistan  
Monday October 04, 2004-- Sha'aban 18, 1425 A.H.
ISSN 1563-9479
 

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200 booked for Sialkot rioting

Police claim important clues found

By our correspondent

SIALKOT: Sialkot District Nazim Mian Naeem Javed on Sunday accused PML-N’s Khawaja M Asif and MMA’s MPA advocate Arshad Mehmud Baggu for inciting the mourners after funeral prayers of the Friday’s bomb blast victims.

Talking to journalists, he said they instigated the angry people into attacking the public and government properties. Asif and Arshad Baggu were indirectly responsible for the damages done to the properties by angry young men, who torched a part of the District Nazim office on Friday, he added.

Mian Naeem said the two delivered emotional and provoking speeches and incited the protesters to disrupt the law and order. He said the mob consisted only of the supporters of Kh Asif and Arshad Baggu.

"They are trying to politicise the situation to gain political popularity," the district Nazim said and demanded that a case must be registered against the parliamentarians for their "irresponsible and anti-social attitudes".

Asif refused to comment on the allegations, saying it was far beneath him to answer such "baseless charges" levelled by the district Nazim. He said he was ready to face any case registered against him. Baggu was not available for his comments despite repeated contacts.

Meanwhile civil lines police have booked 200 people for "rioting". Rangpura police also registered an FIR against the unidentified terrorists. Postmortem of the dead body of the suspect suicide bomber was also held here. Samples of his body remains were sent to laboratories in Islamabad and Lahore for DNA test.

Combined Rasm-e-Qul of the blast victims was held at Imambargah Mistri M Abdullah here amid tight security. More than 2,000 mourners attended the Qul.

After a couple of days’ tension following the bomb blast, the Sialkot city has gradually returned to normal. Shops, business centres remained closed mainly because of Sunday, but in many localities small grocery and vegetable shops remained open.

Agencies add: Police and law enforcement agencies investigating the case claimed to have found some important clues leading to the identity of the bomber. "We have recovered a badly mutilated and charred body of a man, we suspect he was the man who detonated the bomb inside the mosque," senior police officer Ishtiaq Hussain Shah said. "He was a young man, about 25 years of age," Shah said.


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