By MP ReportersNo fewer than 7 people have been killed and several others wounded by a suicide bomb attack at a religious rally in the Pakistani city of Quetta.
While disclosing this on Monday 17th February, 202, Zia Langove, home minister of the southwestern Balochistan province stated that this explosion took place close to the event organised by Ahle Sunnat Wal Jammat (ASWJ), a political party allegedly linked with a sectarian armed group.
“An attacker came on a motorcycle, and he was stopped by police near the rally. Then, there was an explosion,” Langove said.
Quetta police chief, Abdul Razzaq Cheema, noted that the attack was being treated as a suicide bombing because no group has so far claimed responsibility
“Instead of stopping, the attacker attempted to continue going forward,” he said.
“They struggled with him, toppling him and stopping him. As he fell, he detonated himself, which killed two of our men, those who had stopped him and others,” he added.
The casualties were taken to Quetta’s main government hospital, about a kilometre (0.6 miles) away from the attack site.
“We have received seven dead bodies and 19 people have been wounded,” Waseem Baig, a hospital spokesperson, said.
“At least eight of the wounded were in serious condition,” he added.
Witnesses corroborated the police version of events, saying the explosion appeared to take place at a police barricade near the rally in the centre of Quetta.
“I was near the explosion. When the blast took place, I ran this way and debris hit me on my back,” said a man who was wounded in the attack.
The ASWJ, a far-right Sunni Muslim political party, has long called for Shia Muslims – who make up roughly 20 percent of Pakistan’s population – to be declared “non-Muslim” under Pakistani law.
The party has long been associated with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) armed group that targets Shia Muslims across Pakistan, and particularly in Quetta. ASWJ denies the alleged links with LeJ.
Muslim Parrot Reporter