RAWALPINDI: Kabul Radio’s version of the bomb explosion in Quetta on Aug 2, in which a boy sustained fatal injuries near the Railway Hockey ground where Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was addressing a public meeting, has been described by informed sources here as confirming that the incident was part of a conspiracy, which is being investigated by the police.

These sources said they had been unwilling to comment on the incident because any premature revelation of what they knew might have prejudiced police investigations. [It] has [been] learnt that some days before the incident, police had received information that the authorities in Kabul had sent over three foreign-trained Baluch guerrillas, led by Nawazish Khan, to attack Prime Minister Bhutto during his tour of Baluchistan and disrupt some of his important public meetings in such a manner as to create bad blood between the Baluchs and Pathans.

The Prime Minister knew of the plot and of his being stalked during his tour of Baluchistan, but he made no change in his programme. At Quetta, when he heard the bomb explosion, he did not allow it to affect the rhythm of his speech. However, he drew the audience’s attention to it.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2024