QUETTA: The perpetrator of one of Pakistan's worst ever suicide bombings has been identified as a jihadist who spent at least two years fighting against foreign troops in Afghanistan, authorities said Thursday.
Last week's attack killed at least 149 people and was the latest in a series of deadly blasts at various election campaign events ahead of national polls on July 25.
A DNA test on the attacker's hand, found at the scene of the blast, identified the bomber as Pakistani national Hafeez Nawaz, authorities told reporters in provincial capital Quetta.
Nawaz's family "confirmed their son had been in Afghanistan for the last two years to wage jihad against the international coalition" backing the Afghan government, senior counterterrorism official Aitzaz Goraya said.
The bomber must have worked with others to execute the attack in southwestern Mastung district and police were hunting his accomplices, Goraya added.
Last week's blast targeted a rally by local politician Siraj Raisani, in an attack claimed by Islamic State. Raisani was among those killed.
Attacks at election campaign events have killed at least 156 people, including one other local politician, ahead of next week's elections.
Violence has dropped significantly since the country's deadliest-ever militant attack, an assault on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in 2014 that killed more than 150 people, most of them children.
Pakistan's military intensified operations against militants in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan in the wake of that attack, leading to dramatic security improvements.
But analysts have long warned that Pakistan is not tackling the root causes of extremism, and that militants retain the ability to carry out spectacular attacks like the Mastung blast.
Pakistan says election rally blast culprit identified
Pakistan says election rally blast culprit identified
- The bomber must have worked with others to execute the attack in southwestern Mastung district
- Pakistan's military intensified operations against militants in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan in the wake of that attack
Bangladesh’s Yunus announces resignation, end of interim govt
- Yunus handed over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its leader Tarique Rahman
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus stepped down on Monday in a farewell broadcast to the nation before handing over to an elected government.
“Today, the interim government is stepping down,” the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said.
“But let the practice of democracy, freedom of speech, and fundamental rights that has begun not be halted.”
Yunus returned from self-imposed exile in August 2024, days after the iron-fisted government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown by a student-led uprising and she fled by helicopter to India.
“That was the day of great liberation,” he said. “What a day of joy it was! Bangladeshis across the world shed tears of happiness. The youth of our country freed it from the grip of a demon.”
He has led Bangladesh as its “chief adviser” since, and now hands over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader Tarique Rahman on a “landslide victory” in elections last week.
“The people, voters, political parties, and stakeholder institutions linked to the election have set a commendable example,” Yunus said.
“This election has set a benchmark for future elections.”
Rahman, 60, chief of the BNP and scion of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, will lead the South Asian nation of 170 million.
Rebuilt institutions’
Bangladeshi voters endorsed sweeping democratic reforms in a national referendum, a key pillar of Yunus’s post-uprising transition agenda, on the same day as the elections.
The lengthy document, known as the “July Charter” after the month when the uprising that toppled Hasina began, proposes term limits for prime ministers, the creation of an upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.
“We did not start from zero — we started from a deficit,” he said.
“Sweeping away the ruins, we rebuilt institutions and set the course for reforms.”
The referendum noted that approval would make the charter “binding on the parties that win” the election, obliging them to endorse it.
However, several parties raised questions before the vote, and the reforms will still require ratification by the new parliament.
The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Election Commission.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman conceded on Saturday, saying his Islamist party would “serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition.”
Newly elected lawmakers are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday, after which Tarique Rahman is set to become Bangladesh’s next prime minister.
Police records show that political clashes during the campaign period killed five people and injured more than 600.
However, despite weeks of turbulence ahead of the polls, voting day passed without major unrest and the country has responded to the results with relative calm.
