Dera Bugti mosque bombing: PML-Q lawmaker survives attempt on his life

Ahmadan Bugti, his son and 10 worshippers wounded in the attack claimed by BRA.

QUETTA:

A federal lawmaker, his son and 10 worshippers were wounded when a bomb ripped through a mosque during Friday prayers in a restive region of Balochistan.

“The remote-controlled bomb was detonated in Masjid-i-Taqwa in the Goal Chowk area of Dera Bugti,” District Police Officer (DPO) Anwar Ishfaq Hussain Shah told The Express Tribune.

Ahmadan Bugti, a member of the National Assembly from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), his son and 10 others were wounded in the explosion.

According to DPO Shah, the bomb was set off when Ahmadan and his son were entering the mosque. “The bomb was planted inside the mosque and MNA Ahmadan was the target,” he added.

AFP news agency, however, reported that the bomb was planted in Ahmadan’s shoe and exploded as he put them on outside the mosque after prayers. Ahmadan left his shoes outside the mosque while he was offering Friday prayers, Home Secretary Akbar Durrani told AFP. Someone planted an explosive device in one of them which detonated as he put the shoe back on.

“Ahmadan Bugti’s leg was badly wounded, a helicopter has been arranged to fly him to Quetta,” Durrani was quoted as saying by AFP.

Sarbaz Baloch, a purported spokesperson for the outlawed Baloch Republican Army (BRA), called reporters from an undisclosed location and claimed responsibility for the attack.

The injured were driven to the Civil Hospital and FC Hospital for treatment. Besides Ahmadan and his son Shoukat Khan Bugti, other injured were identified as Arif, Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Khan, Abdul Jabbar, Masho Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhamamd Jan, Khuda Baksh, Mir Baig and Abdul Wahab.

Sources said Ahmadan and his son were in a critical condition and had to be referred to Multan for specialised treatment. However, Assistant Commissioner Abdul Jabar Baloch said the lawmaker’s wounds were not life-threatening.

Ahmadan Bugti was the archrival of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the slain chief of Jamhoori Watan Party. He was elected as an MNA, after Akbar Bugti’s death.

He had previously served as chairman of the district council and a nominee of the Majlis Shoora, formed by former military ruler Gen Ziaul Haq in Balochistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2012.