January 2013 Pakistan bombings

Last updated

January 2013 Pakistan bombings
Part of Insurgency in Balochistan
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Location Alamdar Road, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan
Date10 January 2013 (2013-01-10)
Attack type
Bombings
Deaths142
InjuredAt least 270
Perpetrator United Baloch Army (1st attack)
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (2nd and 3rd attack)

On 10 January 2013, several bombings took place in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, killing a total of 130 people and injuring at least 270. The Quetta bombings led to protests by the city's Shia Muslim Hazara community; Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf responded by dismissing the Chief Minister of Balochistan, Aslam Raisani, and replacing him with Zulfikar Ali Magsi. On the same day, a bomb exploded in Swat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing 22 people and injuring 60 others.

Contents

Background

Since the government's seizure of Lal Masjid in the national capital of Islamabad, there has been a growing insurgency by the Islamist Pakistani Taliban and others, especially in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, bordering and resultant from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Additionally, the insurgency in Balochistan, predominantly by the Balochistan Liberation Army, had been ongoing prior to this period; while there has also been deadly sectarianism in Pakistan.[ citation needed ]

Bombings

Quetta

Three bombs exploded in the city of Quetta, one early in the day and two in the evening. The first bomb, which went off in the city's commercial district near a public plaza and crowded food markets, [1] killed twelve people and injured 47; [1] [2] a Baloch separatist group, the United Baloch Army, claimed responsibility. [3] Police official Hamid Shakil said that "Frontier Corps personnel were the target because the bomb was planted underneath their vehicle," [3] though mostly civilians were killed. [4]

The deadliest attack came later in the day, when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a snooker hall at about 8:50 pm, [5] followed about ten minutes later by a car bombing outside the building after police and media personnel had arrived at the scene. [2] [4] 130 people were killed in the two bombings, with at least 270 more injured. [2] [5] At least three more died at hospitals after the bombings, bringing the total death toll to 110. [6] By mid-day on 11 January, the death toll had risen to 112,[ citation needed ] and by the end of 13 January it had reached 126. [7] In addition to those at the hall at the time of the first bombing, nine policemen, 25 rescue workers and three journalists who had arrived at the scene were killed in the second blast. [5] According to local bomb disposal officials, the suicide bomb had up to 7 kilograms (15 lb) of explosives, while the car bomb had about 100 kilograms (220 lb). [5] The hall was completely destroyed, and surrounding buildings were damaged in the blasts, [1] which also destroyed power lines, causing blackouts in the surrounding area. [6]

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni Deobandi militant group, claimed responsibility for this attack. [2] A government official said that the bombings were likely Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's retaliation for the shooting of a Sunni cleric and the capture of weapons from a site believed to be controlled by the group, both of which had occurred the day before. [3] The Balochistan provincial government said that it would pay two million rupees to the family of each policeman killed, while families of the others killed would receive one million rupees. [5] Three days of mourning were announced for Balochistan in response to the bombings. [8]

Journalists killed in the attack

The bombing was responsible for the first deaths of journalists in Pakistan in 2013. Pakistan has ranked among the deadliest of countries for journalists over the past several years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Three journalists were killed and at least two other journalists were seriously injured by the second blast in Quetta. [5] Two were from SAMAA TV: Imran Sheikh had been a camera operator for five years and the third camera operator for the channel who was killed while covering a bombing incident; [9] and Saifur Rehman was a reporter. Also killed in the attack was Iqbal Hussain, who was a journalist from the news agency News Network International. [10] Rehman died later at a hospital from his injuries, while the other two died on site. At least two other journalists suffered from more than minor injuries, including Jameel Ahmed, the engineer for Samaa TV, and Mohammad Hasan, a photojournalist for Independent News Pakistan. [11]

Swat Valley

On 10 January 2013, an explosion in a Tableeghi Jamaat seminary in the Swat Valley, outside of Saidu Sharif, killed 30 people, with 70 injured. [2] The explosion was initially reported to be the result of a gas leak in the building's basement, but police and medical officials said it had likely been a bomb—doctors said that victims had been injured by ball bearings, often used in bombs, and according to a senior doctor there was a "smell of explosives". [2]

Reactions

Protests in Quetta by the city's Shia community erupted the day after the bombings, with protesters and local Shia officials[ who? ] refusing to bury those killed until the Pakistani army took control of security in the city. [8] Protests also broke out over the weekend of 12–13 January in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad and ten other smaller cities around the country. [7] [8]

On 13 January, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf visited protesters in Quetta and agreed to dismiss provincial government officials, though he refused to implement military control in the city. [12] Early on 14 January, he announced that Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani and his cabinet had been removed from their posts, with Zulfikar Ali Magsi appointed to lead the provincial government. [7] [13] In response, Quetta Shias agreed to end their protests and begin burials later in the day. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani is a four times elected member of the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan who served as the Chief Minister of Balochistan from 9 April 2008 until 14 January 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lashkar-e-Jhangvi</span> Jihadist militant organisation

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, is a Deobandi supremacist, terrorist and militant organisation based in Afghanistan. The organisation operates in Pakistan and Afghanistan and is an offshoot of anti-Shia party Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). The LeJ was founded by former SSP activists Riaz Basra, Malik Ishaq, Akram Lahori, and Ghulam Rasool Shah.

The September 2010 Quetta bombing occurred on 3 September 2010 in Quetta, Pakistan. At least 73 people were killed and 206 injured when a bomb exploded in a Quds Day procession which Shias were carrying out to express solidarity with Palestinians.

These are the list of Terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Mastung bus shooting</span>

The 2011 Mastung bus shooting was an armed attack on 20 September 2011 on a bus traveling in Mastung District near the city of Quetta in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The attack left at least 26 people dead. The victims were Shi'a Muslim pilgrims of the Hazara community, suggesting the attack to have been a targeted killing of sectarian nature. The attack occurred in Luck Pass area near Mastung. The bus was leaving Quetta for Taftan, Balochistan. In addition, 2 others were killed in a follow-up attack on a car on its way to rescue the survivors of the bus attack, which raised the death toll to 28 on that day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights abuses in Balochistan</span> Organized abuse and breaches of fundamental human rights in Balochistan, Pakistan

Human rights abuses in the province ofBalochistan refers to the human rights violations that are occurring in the ongoing insurgency in Balochistan. The situation has drawn concern from the international community, The human rights situation in Balochistan is credited to the long-running conflict between Baloch nationalists and Pakistani security forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Hazaras in Quetta</span> Persecution in Pakistan since the 1990s

The persecution of Hazaras in Quetta, is a series of ethnic or religious motivated attacks on Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2013. Some of the incidents are sectarian in nature and the TTP is responsible for a majority of them.

On 16 February 2013, at least 91 people were killed and 190 injured after a bomb hidden in a water tank exploded at a market in Hazara Town on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan, Pakistan. Most of the victims were members of the predominantly Shia Twelver ethnic Hazara community, and authorities expected the death toll to rise due to the large number of serious injuries. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group claimed responsibility for the blast, the second major attack against the Shia Hazaras in a month.

On 15 June 2013, a series of bombings and a subsequent siege resulted in the deaths of 26 people and injuries to dozens more. On the same day, separatist militants attacked and demolished the historic Quaid-e-Azam Residency in Ziarat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2016 Quetta attacks</span> 2016 terrorist attack in Quetta, Pakistan

On 8 August 2016, terrorists attacked the Government Hospital of Quetta in Pakistan with a suicide bombing and shooting. They killed more than 70 people, mainly lawyers, and injured more than 130 others. The fatalities were mainly advocates (lawyers) who had assembled at the hospital where the body of Advocate Bilal Anwar Kasi, the president of the Balochistan Bar Association, was brought after he was shot dead by an unknown gunman. Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by various Islamist groups like Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and the Islamic State. Between 70 and 94 people were killed and over 120 injured. 54 of those killed were lawyers.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2017 include, in chronological order:

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is a codename of a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation is aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It is further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation is ongoing active participation from Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 operations have been carried out against terrorists so far. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.

On 12 May 2017, a suicide bombing targeted the convoy of the Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a JUI (F) member, on the N-25 National Highway in Mastung District, Balochistan, Pakistan. At least 28 people were killed; 40 others were injured, including the Senator. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Haideri.

On 23 June 2017, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Pakistan resulting in 96 dead and over 200 wounded. They included a suicide bombing in Quetta targeting policemen, followed by a double bombing at a market in Parachinar, and the targeted killing of four policemen in Karachi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Jhal Magsi suicide bombing</span>

On 5 October 2017, a suicide bomber targeted the shrine of Pir Rakhel Shah situated in Fatehpur, a small town in Gandawah tehsil of Jhal Magsi district in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province. At least 20 people, including two policemen, were killed and more than 30 others injured in the suicide attack.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2018 include:

On 13 July 2018, ahead of Pakistan's general election, two bombings took place at election rallies in Bannu and Mastung.

The 2019 Quetta bombing was a suicide bomb attack on an open marketplace in Quetta, Pakistan on 12 April, killing 21 people. The bombing took place near an area where many minority Shiite Muslims live. At least ten Hazara, including nine Shiites, were among the dead. Two paramilitary soldiers were also killed in the bombing. PM Imran Khan expressed condolences for the lives lost, directed the authorities to ensure the best medical treatment for the injured, and ordered an increase in security for Shiites and Hazara people. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and ISIL later accepted responsibility for the attack, stating that "their target were Hazara people."

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Death rains on Pakistan". Daily Times . 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Blasts in Pakistan Kill at least 130 and Raise Fears Over Elections". The New York Times . 10 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Pakistan blasts: Scores killed at Quetta snooker hall". BBC News . 10 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 "String of bombings kill 130, injure 280 in Pakistan". Reuters . 10 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Death toll of twin blasts in Quetta, Pakistan rises to 82". Xinhua News Agency. 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Quetta: Alamdar Rd blasts toll hits 84". The News International . 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Pakistan Shi'ites to bury bomb victims after meeting PM". Reuters. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 "Pakistan blasts: Shia refuse to bury Quetta bomb dead". BBC. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  9. "SAMAA cameraman Imran laid to rest in Quetta". SAMAA TV. 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  10. "Pakistani journalists martyred in Quetta blast laid to rest". The Kooza. 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  11. "At least two journalists killed in Quetta blasts". Committee to Protect Journalists. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  12. "Pakistani leader meets protesting families of bombing victims". CNN. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  13. "Governor's rule imposed in Balochistan". The News. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.