Pakistan: UC chairman among 7 killed in blast in Balochistan’s Panjgur

Balochistan [Pakistan]: At least seven people, including a chairman of a Union Council (UC), were killed in a landmine blast targeting a vehicle in Balochistan’s Panjgur district on Monday night, officials said, the Dawn reported.

“Miscreants had planted a remote explosive device to target a vehicle carrying Balgatar UC Chairman Ishtiaq Yaqoob and others who were returning from a wedding ceremony,” the Dawn quoted Amjad Somro, deputy commissioner of Panjgur, as saying.

As the vehicle reached Chakar Bazar in the Balgatar area, the device detonated, resulting in the loss of lives, he said.

The deceased were identified as Mohammad Yaqoob, Ibrahim, Wajid, Fida Hussain, Sarfaraz and Haider, Dawn reported adding that they hailed from Baltagar and Panjgur.
They said the identities of four of the deceased were ascertained by their relatives at a hospital.

Further details of the incident are awaited.

Yakub Balgatri, father of Ishaq Balgatri, and 10 of his companions were also killed in the same area in September 2014. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Officials fear the involvement of the same organisation in today’s incident, the Express Tribune reported.