Soon after the blast, heavy contingent of the police personnel reached the scene of the incident and cordoned off the area and started search operation. Senior Superintendent of Police (operations), Islamabad, Tahir Alam told media that the suicide bomber attempt to blew him up when the police asked him to stop. He failed to explode the jacket, but detonated a hand grenade, adding that a six-year-old girl, Uroj, died in the blast while a police official and a civilian were injured. He said that the suicide jacket was safely defused.
Panic gripped the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi as ambulances of Rescue 1122, Edhi foundation and other organisations were seen on roads. Bomb disposal squad rushed to the spot and started collecting samples. They have also collected the body parts of the suicide bomber.
"A teenaged boy, face covered with white scarf, reached at the gate of the Saeen Buta Shrine situated in Shakrial, where a mourning gathering in connection with Muharram was underway and a large number of mourners were busy in mourning," said an eye witness.
He said that the police official on security duty stopped the suspect, whose faced was covered. The police official, Ittefaq, tried to arrest the bomber who failed to blew himself, but he detonated a hand grenade. The grenade blasted in his own hand and he died on the spot while a six-year-old girl, Uroj, also died in the grenade blast, the eye witness said.
Spokesman of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Dr Waseem Khwaja confirmed the death of Uroj. He said that the girl and policeman were brought in injured condition to the hospital where the young girl breathed her last. The condition of the policeman is said to be critical.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, Kaleem Imam to investigate the matter as to how the suicide bomber succeeded in reaching near the shrine despite heavy security blanket. He condemned the blast and called it an inhuman act.
Malik directed the IGP to submit a detailed report of the incident in two days. He said that the Government is committed to provide security to its people and protect the religious functions. He said that Rangers would be called for security of the mourning processions if government deemed it necessary.