11 Killed As Bomb Explodes Near Bus In Balochistan: '19 Attacks In 12 Hours Days After Pak Train Hijack'
The attack occurred in Naushki, said Zafar Zamanani, a local police chief. While nobody claimed responsibility, suspicion is likely to fall on the Baloch Liberation Army(BLA). According to local sources, there have been 19 attacks in the past 12 hours
Days after the hijacking of the Jaffar Express, a bomb exploded near a bus carrying security forces in restive southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least 11 and injuring 22, according to local sources.
The attack occurred in Naushki, a district in Balochistan, said Zafar Zamanani, a local police chief. He said the blast also badly damaged another nearby bus. The dead and wounded were transported to a nearby hospital.
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The convoy included seven buses and two cars. Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister of Balochistan, condemned the attack.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). According to local sources, there have been 19 attacks in the past 12 hours.
Earlier on Saturday, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Pakistan’s Quetta killed one Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) personnel and injured six others. An ATF patrol vehicle was targeted in the explosion on Barori Road in the Karani area. The blast injured seven officers, who were rushed to the hospital. While six sustained injuries, one succumbed to his wounds.
THE TRAIN HIJACKING
The Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist group seeking Balochistan’s secession from Pakistan, on Tuesday hijacked the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express which was carrying over 400 people, mostly security personnel.
On Wednesday, they gave a 48-hour ultimatum to the government to release Baloch political prisoners and activists who it claimed were abducted by the Pakistani military in exchange for the hostages.
While Pakistan said the security forces launched an operation to end the siege and killed all the 33 attackers, the Baloch insurgents claimed to have killed all the 214 military hostages as their 48-hour deadline on Friday. " Pakistan, displaying its traditional stubbornness and military arrogance, not only avoided serious negotiations but also turned a blind eye to the ground realities. As a result of this stubbornness, all 214 hostages have been executed," the BLA said in a statement.
The trains in the Quetta division of Pakistan remained suspended even on Saturday in the aftermath of the Jaffar Express attack.
Oil-and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and least populated province. Ethnic Baloch residents have long accused the central government of discrimination — a charge Islamabad denies.
With Agency Inputs
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