Three killed in Rajanpur train blast

DERA GHAZI KHAN: Three passengers were killed and 18 others injured when a remote controlled device hit the Karachi-bound Khushal Khan Khattak Express near Kotla Behram in Rajanpur on Friday.

Five bogies overturned which led to the suspension of train service on Kot Adu-Kashmore railway junction. The injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Rajanpur, while the railways authorities claimed that a relief train had been moved to the troubled site for shifting the rest of passengers.

As per the police, the remote controlled time device hit the train at 09:45am near the Kotla Behram village located between the Kot Mithan Railway Station and Kotla Hassan Shah. The

train coming from Peshawar had left the Dera Ghazi Khan Railway Station at around 05:10am.

The dead have been identified as Irfan, son of Gohar Zaman, a resident of Mardan; Inayatullah, son of Sher Mohammad Afridi, a resident of Peshawar; and Suleman Khan, son of Inamullah Khosa, a resident of Kandhkot. The injured include Zakia Mai, Wajeeha, Zakia, Abdul Ghaffar, Qudrat Khan, Syed Gul Shah and others.

The railways officials at Dera Ghazi Khan confirmed to this scribe that five bogies overturned after the bomb exploded. They added that a special train from Jacobabad had been rushed on the direction of Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique while workers with aid material had been moved to rehabilitate the track.

Saad also announced Rs500,000 compensation for the each killed and Rs100,000 for each injured. The Railways Police also registered a case against unidentified accused. Till the filing of the report, the train service could not be restarted on this route and the railways authorities said the rest of the trains would be diverted via Multan junction till the track was restored.

The official sources said the blast created a ditch of about 10 feet diameter and damaged the track over 200 feet. Provincial Minister for Social Welfare Zakia Shah Nawaz visited the District Headquarters Hospital, Rajanpur. She was flanked by PML MNA Shehnaz Saleem Malick from Dera Ghazi Khan. She directed the hospital authorities to provide intensive care to the patients.

Talking to the local newsmen, she said the provincial government would financially support the families of the dead and injured. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has condemned the blast and expressed grief over the loss of precious human lives. He also sympathised with the bereaved families and directed the administration to undertake relief activities.

Our correspondent adds from Karachi: Condemning the terrorist attack on the Khushhal Khattak Express, the Coordination Committee of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has said that terrorists are killing innocent people.

Terming the terrorists as anti-Pakistan, the MQM appealed to President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to take notice of this terrorist incident and arrest the responsible elements.