The leader of Pakistan’s largest Islamic political party, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Sirajul Haq, narrowly evaded a “suicide attack” on his convoy on Friday in the Zhob area of southwest Balochistan.
The party’s secretary general, Ameerul Azim, declared that Haq, who was in Zhob to speak to a political meeting, was safe and that the assailant had been put to death.
According to Hassan Khan, Sirajul Haq’s personal secretary, “Sirajul Haq is safe as the suicide bomber could not reach his vehicle, but some of our workers got injured.”
The JI, which represents the majority religion in the nation, is now in the parliament’s opposition.
The incident was denounced and an immediate investigation was mandated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Although there was no early indication of who was behind the attack, ethnic Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban have long targeted security personnel and ordinary citizens throughout Balochistan, Pakistan’s biggest province and a rich source of natural resources including copper, gold, and gas.
