QUETTA: Hafiz Hamdullah, the spokesman of a key political alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement, was injured on Thursday after a bomb targeted his vehicle in Mastung in the southwestern Balochistan province, officials and the politician’s party said.
Hamdullah belongs to the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party whose political rally was bombed in July this year by the Daesh group, with over 50 killed.
Police said 11 people were onboard the van Hamdullah was traveling in when it was struck by a bomb on Thursday.
“PDM’s spokesman Hafiz Hamdullah was going to Manguchar district Kalat for a party meeting when his vehicle was hit by a powerful blast near Choto area of Mastung city,” Station House Office (SHO) Mastung, Javed Lehri, told Arab News.
A provincial spokesperson of the JUI-F said Hamdullah had survived and was getting treatment at the Civil Hospital in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
A spokesman for the provincial health department, Dr. Waseem Baig, said nine others were injured in the blast and being treated at the Trauma Center at the Civil Hospital .
“Hamdullah received injuries on his legs but is in stable condition but one injured person is in critical condition and under treatment,” Baig told Arab News.
Caretaker Chief Minister Balochistan Ali Mardan Domki called for a prompt an investigation.
“The provincial government will utilize all resources to arrest the perpetrators of Mastung Blast,” the CM said. “The terrorists attacking innocent people don’t deserve any relief.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack in Balochistan, where ethnic Baloch guerrillas have been fighting the government for decades, accusing it of exploiting Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
The JUI-F believes in a democratic, parliamentary system while also being a strong supporter of the Afghan Taliban who are ideological opponents of the Daesh group. The attack on its rally in July and Thursday’s attack on Hamdullah are being widely viewed as an attack on the democratic process as Pakistan moves toward elections, likely in March.
