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Religious School Bombing Kills 14 in Pakistan | Religious School Bombing Kills 14 in Pakistan |
(about 5 hours later) | |
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least 14 people were killed and 28 injured in an attack on a Shiite religious school in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, police officials said, while Taliban militants claimed responsibility for killing a provincial lawmaker and his son in the southern port city of Karachi. | |
In the northwest, three attackers, including a suicide bomber, tried to storm the school in Peshawar, the provincial capital of restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, just before Friday prayers. A police guard tried to stop them in a brief exchange of gunfire and wounded the suicide bomber, said Liaqut Hussain, the Peshawar police chief. The injured bomber, however, managed to get inside the compound and detonate his explosives. | |
Television images showed rescue workers ferrying the wounded to nearby hospitals. The explosion left a trail of destruction and pools of blood. The bomber’s two accomplices managed to escape, according to police officials. | |
Extremist Sunni militants have repeatedly targeted Shiites in the country, causing a deep sense of insecurity among the Shiites. Most of the violence against Shiites has been concentrated in the southwestern city of Quetta, where Shiites belonging to the Hazara ethnic community have repeatedly come under attack. | |
There was no claim of responsibility of the Peshawar attack. | |
The lawmaker killed in Karachi, Sajid Qureshi, 53, was assassinated after Friday prayers in North Nazimabad, a middle-class neighborhood in the city, which has long been torn by ethnic and political violence. The attackers — four gunmen on two motorbikes — also killed his 27-year-old son along with a passer-by, officials said. | |
Mr. Qureshi, a trader by profession, belonged to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a political party that has traditionally enjoyed a strong hold over the city. | |
M.Q.M prides itself as a liberal, secular political party and has opposed religious extremism and militant violence. However, critics have accused the party of using brute force to maintain its influence over the city, the financial hub of the country. | |
In recent years, M.Q.M.'s control has been challenged by Taliban militants. | |
Ehsanullah Ehsan, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack in telephone calls to local news media outlets on Friday evening, and vowed to continue targeting M.Q.M. | |
M.Q.M. called for traders and private passenger bus services to remain closed on Saturday during three days of mourning. In Islamabad, lawmakers belonging to M.Q.M boycotted the proceedings of the national assembly to register their protest. | |
Mr. Qureshi, who was chosen in May 11 general elections to represent North Nazimabad, is the third M.Q.M. lawmaker assassinated in the last three years. Banned Islamic extremist groups claimed responsibility for the earlier killings. | Mr. Qureshi, who was chosen in May 11 general elections to represent North Nazimabad, is the third M.Q.M. lawmaker assassinated in the last three years. Banned Islamic extremist groups claimed responsibility for the earlier killings. |
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the violence and vowed to bring the culprits to justice. | Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the violence and vowed to bring the culprits to justice. |
The violence poses a grave challenge for Mr. Sharif, who was voted into power after the general elections and only recently took office. He has promised to bring peace in the country and revive its troubled economy. However, the continuing violence has raised questions about his ability to deliver on his election promises. | The violence poses a grave challenge for Mr. Sharif, who was voted into power after the general elections and only recently took office. He has promised to bring peace in the country and revive its troubled economy. However, the continuing violence has raised questions about his ability to deliver on his election promises. |
Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, and Zia ur-Rehman from Karachi. | Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, and Zia ur-Rehman from Karachi. |