Wrecked cars at the site of the bomb blast in Chaman which claimed six lives (Jan Achakzai/AP)Six people were killed and several others were wounded on Friday when a powerful roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying a local leader of an Islamist political party in Pakistan. It was unclear who was behind the attack in Chaman, a town in the southwestern Baluchistan province. Local police chief Abdul Bashir said the attack took place when Abdul Qadir, a local leader of a faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, was on his way to attend a rally in support of the Palestinian people. A spokesman for the provincial government in Baluchistan tweeted a condemnation of the blast. Baluch separatists are demanding complete autonomy or a massive share to locals from the province’s gas and mineral resources.

Source: Irish Independent May 21, 2021 11:20 UTC