Mastung suicide blast: 128 people including BAP candidate Siraj Raisani martyred

Death toll increases to 128, including Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) candidate Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, martyred in a suicide explosion hitting an election gathering in the Darengarh area of Mastung on Friday.

The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Qaim Lashari said that nearly 150 people were wounded in the blast.

Lashkari Raisani confirmed his brother Siraj had lost his life in the explosion. “Aslam Raisani and I are also receiving threats,” he said.

Officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) confirmed that it was a suicide blast. They said that around 16-20 kilogram of explosives was used in the explosion.

Resuce teams were moved towards the site of the blast after which the injured have been shifted to Mastung District Hospital for treatment.

Nawab Siraj Raisani is the younger brother of former Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani. He was contesting election from PB-35, Mastung.

Following the incident, an emergency was declared in Quetta hospitals, with additional medical staff summoned.

Earlier in the day, four people were killed while several others were injured as the convoy of former KP chief minister Akram Durrani was attacked in Bannu.

In July 2011, Siraj Raisani lost his 14-year-old son in a terrorist attack in Mastung, in which several others, including security personnel, were killed.

Today, Four people were killed in a blast as MMA candidate Akram Durrani's convoy was targeted in Bannu.

On Tuesday, Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Haroon Bilour was among 22 martyred in an attack on his election rally in Peshawar.

On July 7, an electoral candidate of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Malik Shireen was among three injured in a roadside blast in Bannu.