Terror visits Karachi: Blast at CID Building rocks metropolis

Karachi was rocked with a huge explosion at about 8.30pm when a truck full of explosives hit the Crime Investigation Department (CID) building. The terrifying sound that was heard at a radius of 15 kilometers was also heard at my home at boat basin when the windows of my home opened and closed making a terrifying sound due to the heavy wind pressure caused by the powerful blast. At that very instant, I knew it was a bomb blast. I rushed to watch updates on the television after getting SMS from a few friends with “Blast near PIDC” in it, the scenes of television were heart breaking. My beloved country was yet victim to another act of terrorism that has plagued its economy.

The blast was so intense that people in Nazimabad and Mazar-e-Quaid also heard it and the earthquake recording authorities claim to have recorded it at a magnitude of 1.3. Surely was huge as nearby building were damaged, about 12 houses succumbed to rubbles, the complete front portion of the head office of the CID building was flattened, 2 huge craters were made in the ground, several cars in the busy area were moved from their positions in the traffic jams to hit other cars on the side, 21 people killed and about 115 injured. The bomb disposal experts say around 1,000 kg explosives were used in the blast.

The blast was said to be a reaction to the arrest of 6 people of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi that were present at that time in the CID office for interrogation and after the blast, witnesses say that some terrorists may have escaped. Similar to the previous attacks such as the Marriot blast in Islamabad, this attack too involved heavy firing before the blast. However, this time the area of blast was a very crucial one. The Red zone is location to the Chief Ministers house, Governor’s House, Qasr-e-Naz, three luxury hotels, the US consulate and governments, etc. 

Blasts have become a common thing is Pakistan as the frequency of their occurrence has increased steadily over time. However, the losses of innocent lives is an irreparable loss and a pain their families have to live with for long. The frequency of such attacks has made lives of the common man highly insecure.Strict measures are needed to curb this menace of terrorism from society and value human lives as providing security to it's citizens is the duty of the state and the measures for this on part of the state yet needs serious attention.