Islamabad: Pakistan’s interior ministry on Thursday rejected claims by a Baluch separatist group that it carried out a bombing at a market in Islamabad that killed 24 people.
The United Baluch Army (UBA), one of a number of militant separatist outfits from the southwestern province of Balochistan, said it staged the attack — the deadliest in the Pakistani capital since 2008.
But a spokesman for the ministry dismissed the claim.
“Initial investigations have revealed that the United Baluch Army has no links with yesterday’s attack,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“Accepting responsibility by this organisation for the blast is not only surprising but ridiculous.”
A bomb tore through the bustling wholesale fruit and vegetable market on the edge of the capital at around 8am on Wednesday as hundreds of traders gathered to do business.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday announced compensation of Rs500,000 (Dh18,762) each for families of the deceased and Rs75,000 each for the injured.
Police carried out a massive search operation in predominantly Afghan slum areas and other places outside the city following the blast.
The Inspector-General, Islamabad had formed four probe teams that raided different places in Sheikhupura, Arifwala, Kabirwala and other areas, and rounded up 6 suspects.
Guavas packed in crates had been transported to Islamabad Sabzi Mandi from these areas, one of which exploded, resulting in casualties.
The UBA statement was the first time a Baluch group had claimed an attack in Islamabad, parts of which are heavily guarded.
Various Baluch groups have waged a bloody insurgency for at least a decade to demand more autonomy, a greater share of their province’s mineral wealth and in some cases full independence.
But their activities have largely been confined to Balochistan, a huge, sparsely populated province bordering Iran and Afghanistan.
They regularly attack security forces in the province and blow up gas pipelines.
A senior official in Balochistan said he shared the interior ministry’s scepticism about the UBA claim.
“These groups don’t have the capability to strike outside Balochistan. Even in Balochistan they are restricted to specific areas where they carry out their attacks,” he said on condition of anonymity.
The UBA also claimed responsibility for a bomb blast on a train on Tuesday, which killed 13 people in the southwestern town of Sibi.
The market hit by the blast is known to be riven with protection and extortion rackets, and talk among traders has pointed to this as a possible reason for the attack.
Hundreds of businessmen and labourers gathered on Thursday at the site of the blast to offer prayers for the victims and demand government action to protect them.
