MASTUNG: At least 11 people, including Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah, were injured in a blast in in district Mastung of Balochistan on Thursday.
Mastung Assistant Commissioner Attaul Muneem informed that 11 people had been injured in the incident so far, adding that they were shifted to Quetta for medical treatment.
Footage broadcast on television showed a bloodied Hamdullah being supported by two gunmen as he spoke.
The Assistant Commissioner said the blast took place near a vehicle. He said the blast resulted in injuries to 11 people including the JUI-F leader, saying the injured were shifted to Quetta for treatment.
Speaking to the media after the blast, JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said that Hamdullah was injured but not critically.
جمعیت علماء اسلام کے ترجمان اسلم غوری کی حافظ حمداللہ پر حملے کی شدید الفاظ میں مذمت
حافظ حمداللہ اور انکے ساتھیوں کی حالت بہتر ہے۔ اسلم غوری
حافظ حمداللہ و دیگر زخمیوں کو کوئٹہ منتقل کردیا گیا ہے۔ اسلم غوری
حکومت اس افسوس ناک واقع کی انکوائری کرکے زمہ داران کو کیفر کردار…
— Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan (@juipakofficial) September 14, 2023
“He is okay. He is injured but the situation is not critical […] the gunmen and the others accompanying him also sustained minor injuries but they are okay. There is no serious issue at the moment.”
He said that Hamdullah and the others were travelling from Quetta to Kalat, adding that the incident occurred after they crossed Mastung.
“We still do not know if it was a suicide blast or a planted bomb,” he added. “According to the information I have received, Hamdullah sahib and two persons are injured. All are okay and the matter is not serious.”
Ghauri said that the injured had been shifted to a hospital in Quetta.
PM flays ‘dastardly attack’
Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar strongly condemned the “dastardly attack” and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured persons.
نگران وزیرِ اعظم انوار الحق کاکڑ کی مستونگ دھماکے کی شدید مذمت۔
نگران وزیرِ اعظم کامستونگ دھماکے میں جمیعت علمائے اسلام کے رہنما حافظ حمد اللہ سمیت دیگر افراد کے زخمی ہونے پر گہرے دکھ اور افسوس کا اظہار۔نگران وزیرِ اعظم کی زخمیوں کی جلد صحت یابی کیلئے دعا۔ pic.twitter.com/XraP9l1Ja8
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) September 14, 2023
He also stressed that the entire nation was standing united in the face of terrorism.
Bugti condemns attack on JUI leader
Condemning the attack on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leader in Mastung, Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti prayed for the quick recovery of the JUI leader and others injured in the blast.
He said, the entire nation is united in war against terrorism and will never allow terrorist to succeed in their nefarious designs. “Terrorists want to spread anarchy in the country,” said the minister adding that the government will not spare the enemies of the country’s development and peace.
Meanwhile, Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said targeting innocent citizens and political personalities was a cowardly act and elements involved in terrorism do not deserve any leniency.
نگران وفاقی وزیر اطلاعات مرتضیٰ سولنگی کی مستونگ دھماکہ پر شدید مذمت@murtazasolangi pic.twitter.com/iTfIki8ZEL
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) September 14, 2023
He highlighted that the whole nation stands united against this menace.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the incident and prayed for the injured. “Terrorists and facilitators involved in terrorism should be brought under the law,” he said.
سابق صدر آصف علی زرداری کی مستونگ میں بم دھماکے کی مذمت
آصف علی زرداری کی دھماکے میں حافظ حمد اللہ سمیت تمام زخمیوں کی جلد صحت یابی کیلئے دعا
دہشتگردی میں ملوث دہشت گردوں اور سہولت کاروں کو قانون کی گرفت میں لایا جائے@AAliZardari
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) September 14, 2023
Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar also condemned the blast and expressed grief over the people injured in the incident. “The nation stands united against terrorism,” he said in a statement, praying for the swift recovery of the injured.
Separately, Balochistan Interim Home Minister Zubair Jamali strongly condemned the incident and directed the relevant authorities to submit a report in this regard.
He directed the district administration to help the injured, while also praying for their swift recovery. He said that all possible resources would be utilised to eliminate terrorists.
Meanwhile, Sindh police chief Riffat Mukhtar directed the provincial police to remain on high alert in light of the blast in Mastung, and to carry out their duties with utmost vigilance and diligence.
While no group has taken responsibility for today’s blast, the JUI-F has been a target of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).
In the past, the ISKP has targeted several local leaders of the JUI-F in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur, suspecting them of having close ties with the Taliban administration in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Iranian Embassy condemns terrorist attack on JUI-F leader
The Iranian Embassy on Thursday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on senior leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Hafiz Hamdullah in Mastung, Balochistan.
The embassy, in a statement posted on the social media platform ‘X’, expressed its outrage in the strongest terms against this heinous act of terrorism.
“The ominous phenomenon of #terrorism is meant to destabilize the countries & to endanger #peace & #stability in the countries of the region,” it added.
The JUI-F and its leadership have come under attack on previous occasions. Earlier in July, at least 63 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a suicide bomber set off explosives at the party’s workers convention in the Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The blast occurred in Khar tehsil of the district, a town bordering Afghanistan. According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers along with the local leader were present at the convention when the suicide blast ripped through it.
The Islamic State-Khorasan claimed the deadly suicide bombing.
