Former chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain Ahmed, on Monday escaped unhurt a bomb attack on his convoy in Mohmand Agency. Reports said a female suicide bomber detonated herself just as Qazi’s convoy passed through Haleemzai tehsil of the agency.Four people, including a bodyguard of the former JI chief, were injured in the attack, officials said. A vehicle in the convoy was partially damaged in the blast, although Qazi’s vehicle sustained no damage by the explosion. A government administrator in Mohmand, Shamsur Rehman Khan, said Qazi had been unhurt in the attack. He said the bomber was wearing a burqa and had explosives strapped to her body, adding that the bomber detonated the explosives after Qazi’s vehicle had passed her by. Another official, Jamshed Khan, confirmed the incident and said “pieces of female clothes and hair found from the site make us believe that the attacker was a woman”. Qazi was heading to Mian Mandi Ganghad, the main bazaar in Mohmand, to address a congregation of the party. Mohmand is one of seven districts in Pakistan’s restive semi-autonomous tribal belt, where Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants are said to have carved out strongholds. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani Taliban chief Hakeemullah Mehsud has been a critic of the Jamaat-e-Islami and had singled out Qazi Husain Ahmad in particular in a recent audio message, accusing him of supporting Pakistan’s US-allied rulers.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed escapes suicide bombing in Mohmand
