KARACHI: The top leader of a prominent Pakistani religious faction, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), survived a suicide attack in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province on Friday, confirmed a top party leader, though at least seven people were injured in the explosion.
According to the party, the JI chief, Siraj-ul-Haq, was on his way to address a public rally in Zhob district, located about 340 kilometers away from Quetta, when his caravan came under attack.
Abdul Kabir Shakir, the party’s vice-president in Balochistan, said the JI chief was traveling with him and the party’s top provincial leader, Abdul Haque Hashmi, when the bomber detonated himself near their vehicle.
“The suicide bomber targeted the vehicle by blowing himself up right next to our door, but all three of us and our driver luckily remained unhurt,” he told Arab News.
He added seven JI workers were injured in the explosion while four of them were in “critical condition.” The bomber himself was killed in the incident.
Shakir confirmed the rally would take place as per schedule.
“It will conclude after the speech of the Amir of Jamaat,” he added.
Sher Ali, a local police officer, said the bomber’s suicide vest did not fully detonate, resulting in fewer casualties.
“Had the suicide vest been fully detonated, it would have proved very deadly,” he told Arab News.
Ali added that the police were currently investigating the attack and would share further details after concluding the probe.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, though Balochistan, which shares its border with Afghanistan and Iran, has long been a scene of low-level insurgency by Baloch nationalists.
The Pakistani Taliban dissociated themselves from the attack while condemning it in a statement.
Last month, the JI chief gained national visibility by holding meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his arch-rival Imran Khan while trying to convince them to sort out their differences over upcoming elections through constructive negotiations.
Siraj-ul-Haq's party was also quite active in various parts of Balochistan in recent months. Some of its leaders organized protests in places like Gwadar, where Pakistani authorities are building a strategic port facility with the help of Chinese companies, to highlight the plight of local residents.
The Balochistan administration condemned the incident in a statement. It also mentioned that the province’s chief minister had contacted Siraj-ul-Haq to inquire about his health.
The provincial government also announced medical emergency in hospitals in Zhob district in the wake of the attack.
