Daily Times

DADU: The death toll from Sehwan shrine suicide blast reached 88 on Friday while around 270 others were reported to have been under treatment at various hospitals of the province for injuries.

Sehwan taluka hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Moenuddin Siddiqui told reporters on Friday said a total of 72 bodies were brought to the hospital. He said 16 more succumbed to their injuries at other hospitals of the province.

Sehwan Edhi Center in-charge Nissar Ahmed told Daily Times that 67 out of 72 bodies were sent to their natives areas in Larkana, Rahim Yar Khan, Mirpur Khas and Dadu districts.

He said five unidentified bodies were still lying at Sehwan taluka hospital.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah also visited Sehwan on Friday and monitored the rescue work. Talking to journalists, Shah condemned the blast at the shrine and claimed that some arrest had already been made in connection with the bombing.

The shrine remained closed on Friday and devotees were not allowed to enter the premises. Clashes were also reported between police and protestors at several places.

A shutter-down strike was observed in Sehwan city and angry protestors kept Sehwan-Hyderabad Indus Highway blocked for several hours. The protestors also put on fire a police van. Police used batons to disperse the protesters, resulting in injuries to 10 people.

The popular shrine’s white floor was still smeared with blood on Friday morning, with scattered debris including shoes, shawls, and baby bottles. At least 20 children are believed to be among the dead, the head of Sehwan’s medical facility Moeenuddin Siddiqui said.

The Sindh government announced three days of mourning as citizens vented their grief and fury on social media, bemoaning the lack of medical facilities to help the wounded, with the nearest main hospital some 130 kilometres from the shrine.

The medical facilities in Sehwan are basic, and many of the injured were flown to Karachi and other major cities of Sindh in military planes and helicopters.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa reached Sehwan and visited the injured at the hospital earlier in the day. They were briefed about the situation in the city by the top security officials present in the city.

Police had cordoned off the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine early Friday, as forensic investigators arrived.

The Sindh’s inspector general of police termed the attack a result of a ‘security lapse’.

Security for shrines was tightened across the country in the aftermath of the bombing, with some closed till further notice and entry to others tightened considerably.