- Two months after bombing at Punjab home minister’s meeting, PML-N under attack again
- MNA Sardar Amjad Farooq Khosa was in Islamabad at the time, says attack may be a reaction to military operation Zarb-e-Azb
- Taliban group Jamaatul-Ahrar claims responsibility for the attack
At least seven people were killed and several injured in a blast on Wednesday at the political office of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Sardar Amjad Farooq Khosa in Taunsa Sharif tehsil of Punjab’s Dera Ghazi Khan district.
At least five people were killed on the spot. The police and rescue personnel rushed to the blast site and shifted the victims to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan where two more succumbed to their wounds raising death toll to seven. Hospital sources said that condition of four wounded was critical.
Eye-witnesses said two motorcycle-riding attackers drove into the residence of the PML-N leader. The blast took place immediately afterwards. The office building caught on fire as a result of the explosion and a plume of smoke was visible in the air.
A Taliban splinter group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was behind the blast at the political office of the ruling party’s MNA in DG Khan.
According to witnesses two candidates for union council chairman Zameerul Hasan Sangi and Akhtar Tangwani are also among the dead.
A large contingent of police and security personnel, including the Bomb Disposal Squad, reached the site.
The blast, which took place days ahead of Muharram, could be heard across two kilometres. The government has formulated a strict security plan and beefed up security arrangements for the Holy month of Muharram.
MNA Sardar Amjad Farooq Khosa was in Islamabad at the time of the attack, but almost 100 people were reportedly present at the political office. People usually gather at the political office to address their grievances.
“The blast occurred at my political office in Taunsa while I am currently in Islamabad to attend a meeting,” Sardar Khosa said, adding that the attack could be a reaction to the on-going military operation, Zarb-e-Azb, against terrorists. The MNA said that he had not received any threat or alert prior to the blast.
“The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul-Ahrar has carried out the attack on the election office of the PML-N lawmaker,” the group’s spokesman Eshanullah Ehsan was reported as saying.
The militant outfit had parted ways with the TTP over serious differences last year. Security officials say majority of the Taliban leaders have crossed into Afghanistan and now operate from there.
The attack comes two months after another PML-N lawmaker, Punjab Home Minister Colonel (r) Shuja Khanzada and 18 others were killed after two suicide bombers detonated a bomb at a meeting he was attending at his political office in Attock’s Shadi Khan village.
Sardar Amjad Farooq Khosa is the cousin of estranged PML-N leader Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa and was elected from the DG Khan’s NA-171 constituency.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Governor Rafiq Rajwana, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, JI Ameer Sirajul Haq, JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and leaders of other national and local parties have condemned the attack in DG Khan and expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of lives in the blast.
