25 killed, deputy chairman Senate injured in blast in Pak

Karachi: Pakistan’s Senate deputy chairman on Friday escaped an assassination attempt with injuries when a suicide bomber targeted his convoy, killing 25 people and wounding 35 others in the volatile south-western Balochistan province.
The bomber targeted Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri when he came out of a mosque after addressing a gathering shortly after the Fridayprayers in Mastung area of the province.
The area where the explosion took place is approximately 70 kilometres from provincial capital Quetta.
District Health Officer in Mastung Sher Zaman said that 25 bodies have been shifted to two hospitals in Quetta. “More than 35 were also injured,” he added.
Earlier, Mastung Hospital Public Relation Officer Malik Jibran said over 35 injured were brought to the hospital. He said more than 15 injured were in critical condition.
Senior police officer Abdul Razzaq Cheema said Haideri was slightly injured and he has been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Quetta.
“I am alive, Allah has saved my life, it was a sudden blast, broken pieces of the windscreen hit me, I am injured but safe. The driver and other people sitting next to me were badly injured,” Haideri later told SAMAA TV.
“I am sorry for the death of innocent of people,” said Haideri, who belongs to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) of Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Most of the people killed were workers of his party.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
District Police Officer Muhammad Ghazanfar said that initial evidence suggests it was a suicide attack.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack directed the relevant authorities to ensure the best medical treatment for the injured.