Sarfraz Bugti’s motorcade escapes gunfire

QUETTA:

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti’s motorcade came under attack in Dera Bugti district on Monday.

However, assailants were chased off with retaliatory gunfire.

Sources in the Balochistan Levies told The Express Tribune that the home minister’s convoy was on its way to the Sui sub-district when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his motorcade.



Bugti’s security squad retaliated, forcing the assailants to speed away. No one was harmed in the attack.

Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri condemned the attack and directed the relevant authorities to submit a report of the incident and bring the attackers to book.

No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, while security forces were still hunting for the assailants.

On January 22, Bugti’s motorcade was hit by a roadside bomb in the Behker area of Dera Bugti. He was travelling to his native Dera Bugti in a 12-vehicle convoy when a bomb was remotely detonated as they reached Behker. The Baloch Republican Army had claimed responsibility for the attack.



Two guards and a security official had sustained minor injuries, while the minister’s vehicle was also damaged. Bugti, however, was unharmed in the attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2016.