Pakistan religious party convoy hit by 'suicide attack,' leader remains unhurt

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - Sirajul Haq, the head of Pakistan's Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), a major religious political party, on Friday escaped a "suicide attack" that targeted his convoy in southwestern Balochistan’s Zhob district.

Ameerul Azim, the party's secretary general, said Haq, who was visiting Zhob to address a political gathering, was safe and that the attacker had been killed.

"Sirajul Haq is safe as the suicide bomber could not reach his vehicle, but some of our workers got injured," Hassan Khan, Haq's personal secretary, told Anadolu.

The JI is the country’s mainstream religious party, and is currently a part of the opposition in the parliament.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, and ordered an immediate inquiry.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but ethnic Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban have long been targeting security forces and civilians across Balochistan, Pakistan's largest province that is rich in natural resources such as copper, gold, and gas.