Bomb attack destroys Quaid's residency in Ziarat

Published June 15, 2013
File photo shows the historic wood structure where Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah spent the last days of his life.—File Photo
File photo shows the historic wood structure where Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah spent the last days of his life.—File Photo

QUETTA: Militants attacked the Quaid-e-Azam residency in Ziarat with hand grenades in the wee hours of Saturday, destroying the historical monument where the founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah spent his last days.

A police man outside the Quaid's residency was also killed in the attack.

A police official, who requested anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media, told Dawn.com that four militants on two motorcycles entered the residency and hurled hand held bombs.

"All old memorials inside the residency have been destroyed," he said.

He said memorial chairs, beds, and historic photographs of the founder were burnt to the ground in the resulting fire.

Another police official, requesting anonymity, said the wood structure of the residence had been burnt down, however, the exterior concrete structure was still intact.

Bomb disposal squad also claimed to have defused six more bombs planted inside the residency.

Police said the militants escaped unhurt from the spot.

Frontier Corps and police reached the residency and started investigation into the incident.

The founding father of the country, Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had spent last days of his life in Ziarat at the historic wooden structure.

Ziarat is considered a tourist point in insurgency-hit Balochistan province. A large number of tourists visit the town and the memorials of the Quaid every summer.

Opinion

Fifty years later

Fifty years later

The nation is stuck in a repetitive cycle: striving for fair and timely polls, basic rights, and civilian empowerment.

Editorial

Healing old wounds
09 Dec, 2023

Healing old wounds

IN a development that will surely shine a spotlight on one of the darkest chapters in Pakistan’s democracy, the...
New Danish law
09 Dec, 2023

New Danish law

THE public defilement of Islamic sanctities — mainly by Islamophobic provocateurs in the West — serves no...
Elected set-up’s job
09 Dec, 2023

Elected set-up’s job

Backed by a powerful establishment, the interim government has done a fairly good job at executing IMF-mandated policies.
Privatising SOEs
Updated 08 Dec, 2023

Privatising SOEs

WHY does the government want to demolish the historic Roosevelt Hotel in New York — one of the eight properties ...
Filing returns
08 Dec, 2023

Filing returns

THE grim realities of Pakistan’s flailing efforts to ensure tax compliance often present themselves as farce....
Cost of negligence
08 Dec, 2023

Cost of negligence

ONCE again, Karachi has witnessed a tragic fire, this time engulfing a six-storey commercial-cum-residential ...