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25 killed as Deputy Chairman Senate Haideri's convoy hit by explosion in Mastung
[DAWN] At least 25 people have been killed and over 40 others injured in an kaboom in Balochistan...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... 's Mastung district, which is around an hour's drive from the quiet provincial capital, Quetta. The bombing took place near a local seminary shortly after Friday prayers. Deputy Chairman Senate Abdul Ghafoor Haideri  ...Central Secretary General of JUI-F, member of the Pak senate, formerly provincial minister of Balochistan. He has a master's degree in Islam and runs a madrassah... 's convoy was hit in the attack. The kaboom occurred right as Haideri's convoy was exiting the seminary. A Senate director staff, Iftikhar Mughal, was reportedly killed in the attack. It is unclear whether the kaboom was the result of an improvised bomb (IED) or a suicide kaboom. Police say the attack is likely to have been a suicide kaboom. Haideri had been invited to the seminary for an investiture ceremony, DawnNews reported. Sounds like an inside job. An eyewitness present at the event said the guests were leaving for a luncheon when Haideri's convoy came under attack. Walked right into the setup. Maybe he drove. The eyewitness told DawnNews that there was an kaboom, followed by sustained firing. "After the air cleared, we saw bodies everywhere." A police car was part of Haideri's security detail and police officials are among those injured in the blast, another eyewitness said. Haideri belongs to Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F). While speaking briefly to media, he said he had suffered minor injuries but was otherwise fine. He has been shifted to Combined Military Hospital Quetta for treatment. His condition, according to Balochistan government front man Anwar ul Haq Kakar, is "safe and sound". Nearby vehicles were damaged by the impact of the blast. -- DawnNews Posted by: Fred 2017-05-13 |
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