According to PTI reports, at least 25 people were killed and 35 others were injured in a blast in Mastung area in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Friday. The blast happened shortly after Friday prayers.
Pakistan Senate Deputy chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri escaped an assassination attempt and was reportedly injured in the blast, as per PTI sources.
The bomb was targeted at Haideri when he was coming out of a religious seminary, after addressing a gathering in Mastung area. It happened in the area that is around 70 kilometers from capital Quetta. The police is quoting the blast as a suicide attack.
According to senior police officer Abdul Razzaq Cheema, at least 30-40 people have been injured. He also said that Haideri was slightly injured. As per local media, Haideri has been shifted to the Civil Hospital.
In a TV interview, Haideri said that he has received slight injuries.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
The District Police Officer Mastung, Ghazanfar Ali, said Haideri escaped as he was not inside the car when the blast took place. “It could be a suicide bomb attack but it is too early to say for sure,” he said.
A probe has been ordered to look into the nature of the attack.
