ISLAMABAD: Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of a prominent Pakistani religious party, on Sunday escaped an attack on his convoy in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, his party said, questioning the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan's northwestern and southwestern regions.
Rehman was traveling through the Dera Ismail Khan district, when his convoy was fired upon near the Yarik interchange on Islamabad-DI Khan motorway, according to his Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party.
The JUI-F chief and his staff escaped the attack unhurt.
“We have time and again informed that the situation is not favorable for our leadership. The administration writes a letter every other day with regard to the threats, but takes no practical step,” Aslam Ghauri, a JUI-F spokesman, said in a statement.
“The law-and-order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan is deteriorating day by day.”
Ghauri called for an immediate investigation into the attack, questioning why the law enforcement agencies were not fulfilling their responsibility.
Senator Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi, the JUI-F secretary general, condemned the attack on Rehman’s convoy.
“The attack on Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s convoy is a question mark for the state,” Hyderi said in a statement. “We have been consistently saying that there are threats to Maulana Fazlur Rehman.”
Hyderi questioned how was it possible for his party to contest the national elections, scheduled for February 8, under such circumstances.
JUI-F members have lately raised concerns about the security situation ahead of the national elections, particularly after the party suffered major losses in KP local body elections due to being a target of militant groups in recent years.
In September, Hafiz Hamdullah, a senior JUI-F figure, was injured along with several others in a blast in Balochistan’s Mastung area.
In July this year, at least 40 JUI-F activists and supporters were killed in a deadly suicide attack that targeted the party’s worker convention in the Bajaur district.
Pakistani religious party leader escapes attack in restive northwest — party
https://arab.news/bq2gf
Pakistani religious party leader escapes attack in restive northwest — party
- The Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl party has lately raised concerns about the security situation ahead of Feb. 8 national elections
- In July, a suicide bombing killed 40 JUI-F supporters in Bajaur, while a senior party leader was injured in a blast in September
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
