Pak minister killed in blast

ISLAMABAD — At least eight people, including a senior provincial minister, were killed and about 18 injured on Saturday when an explosion ripped through a busy neighbourhood in Peshawar. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour was critically injured in the attack and rushed to hospital where he succumbed to injuries, his brother and federal minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour confirmed. A notice on the information board of Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital also announced Bilour and seven others were dead. It said 18 people were injured in the attack. Bilour had “wounds to the chest and stomach. We tried our best to save his life” but he died during surgery, said Arshad Javed, a senior doctor at the hospital. The Pakistani Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the movement targeted Bilour in revenge for the death of one of its elders. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister and a member of the Awami National Party (ANP), said both he and Bilour had repeatedly received threats from militants. He condemned the attack and said the government needed to intensify its battle against the Taleban. “Terrorism has engulfed our whole society,” said Hussain. According to details, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the ANP office where workers and minister Bilour had gathered for a meeting. Bomb disposal experts said that the suicide bomber detonated his explosives when the meeting was at its peak. “The suicide bomber walked into the house where the meeting was taking place and detonated his vest,” Shafqat Malik, chief of the bomb disposal squad, told AFP. Police said around 100 people had gathered for the meeting when the suicide bomber blew himself up. “The bomber reached very close to senior minister Bilour,” said Asif Iqbal, a senior police official. Bilour, 69, was regarded as one of the bravest leaders of the province who began his political carrier in 1970 in the National Awami Party, which was later renamed the Awami National Party. Pakistan’s top political leaders, including President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, opposition leaders Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan and ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, condemned the blast and vowed to fight out terrorism. Among other dead were a senior police officer and Bilour’s personal secretary. The blast occurred in the Dhaki Nalbandi area near the busy Qissa Khwani Bazaar of Peshawar. Being an outspoken critic of the Taleban, Bilour was always on their hit-list and had earlier escaped attempts on life at least two times. His brother and Federal Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said the Taleban were using Islam’s name for their heinous crimes. “We live in a Pakistan where Maulana Maududi, Maulana Abdul Haq Haqqani had signed on the constitution. We don’t know who is a sinner and who is on the right path. Were those who signed on the constitution Muslims or are these (terrorists) Muslims? We just don’t know!” he said. He added that Bashir never fussed much about security, but he was always accompanied by one or two guards. Ghulam Ahmed Bilour who himself lost one son in a suicide attack, commended Bashir for his bravery. Underscoring the threat of violence in coming days, senior politician Shaikh Rashid Ahmed said this was the first murder of a top political leader ahead of general election. He was also present in the meeting but stayed back for taking tea while Bashir Bilour came out of the house when the bomber blew himself. Bashir Bilour’s funeral arrangements will be finalised after his sons return from Dubai. Information Minister Hussain, whose only son was also killed in a blast two years ago, saluted Bashir Bilour’s courage. “He sacrificed himself for the country and he fought against militants,” Hussain added. - Khaleejtimes.com/22 December 2012