Karachi police register terrorism case over car crash outside DHA imambargah
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KARACHI: Police said on Monday they have registered a case under terrorism charges after a speeding van hit a tent of mourners outside an imambargah in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Sunday evening, killing a teenage girl and injuring 19 other mourners. A Suzuki pick-up had rammed into a tent outside Masjid-o-Imam Bargah Baqiyatullah on Saba Avenue in Phase VI, where mourners were attending a Muharram majlis. On Monday, South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said the terrorism case was registered on a complaint of a security head of the Masjid-o-Imambargah Baqiyatullah, against the driver and three other companions who were also injured in the incident. The case has been transferred to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for investigation, added the senior officer. The DIG confirmed that a girl, identified as 14-year-old Zunaira Akram, was shifted to a private hospital on Sunday night but succumbed to her wounds. Sharing details of how the incident took place, DIG Raza said that at about 9:30pm on Sunday, a Suzuki pickup approached from Saba Avenue towards Imambargah Baqiyatullah. “Due to its excessive speed, the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed through the security barriers installed approximately 200 meters from the imambargah for the security of the ongoing Majlis-i-Aza. After breaching the barriers, the vehicle entered the congregation area and intruded into the tent where the gathering was in progress. The vehicle struck several attendees, resulting in injuries to 20 mourners. The South DIG said the police immediately responded and shifted all injured persons to different hospitals for medical treatment. He recalled that police personnel and scouts had been deployed at the location as part of the security arrangements. The driver of the Suzuki pickup and his three companions, who had also sustained injuries and were under treatment at a hospital, have been taken into custody, DIG Raza confirmed. The senior officer further said t