Senate deputy chairman regrets govt's 'lack of action' after May 12 Mastung incident

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Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri (centre) speaks at a press conference in Sukkur. —Dawn/File
Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri (centre) speaks at a press conference in Sukkur. —Dawn/File

Deputy Chairman Senate Abdul Ghafoor Haideri on Wednesday criticised the federal government for its lack of prompt action following a recent attack targetting his convoy in Balochistan's Mastung district, which left 28 people dead and over 40 others injured.

The bombing took place on May 12 near a local seminary shortly after Friday prayers. The explosion occurred right as Haideri's convoy was exiting the seminary.

While addressing the Upper House, Haideri, a member of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), expressed "disappointment over the way the government treats Balochistan".

He said, "To date, no information has been shared regarding the investigation into the Mastung blast."

"We [also] reminded the prime minister twice to offer compensation to the families of the blast victims, but no such announcement has been made yet," Haideri said.

"When you ask Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar [about the explosion], he says it is a provincial matter; when you approach the provincial government, they say it is a federal issue," he regretted.

The deputy chairman further lamented the lack of response from the government on the attack on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Quetta in 2014, saying that nobody wants to take responsibility.

"Is this what we get for standing with the government?" Haideri said.

The May 12 attack had come a day after Haideri said at a press conference in Quetta that the JUI-F would form the next provincial government in alliance with political parties, including nationalist parties.

Haideri's driver, along with two other associates, succumbed to their injuries in the May 12 blast in Mastung. The majority of those injured and killed were JUI-F party workers, rescue sources had said.

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