By Islamuddin Sajid
ISLAMABAD (AA) - At least 13 people are dead and 35 injured following an explosion at a political rally in southwestern Pakistan organized by the Balochistan National Party (BNP).
Advocate Sajid Tareen, acting president of the BNP, said that so far, 13 BNP workers have lost their lives.
“This was a suicide attack, as police recovered the head of the bomber,” he told reporters in Quetta.
The Dawn daily quoted Dr. Wasim Baig of a local hospital in Quetta as confirming that 13 bodies had been received.
However, the Sariab Police Station told Anadolu they have details of 11 dead and 35 injured so far.
The political rally was targeted late Tuesday near Shahwani Stadium in the Sariab area after the event ended.
The BNP is a nationalist party led by Akhtar Mengal, a former chief minister of Balochistan province.
Mengal and other leaders including Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Asghar Khan Achakzai of the Awami National Party (ANP) and former senator Mir Kabeer Muhammad Shai of the National Party escaped unhurt.
The mineral-rich province, including Quetta, has long been a hotbed of violence, where security forces have been facing a low-intensity rebellion.