A shutter-down strike was observed in Quetta on Friday against the Mastung blast which left Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) leader Hafiz Hamdullah and several others with critical injuries. Commercial centres were closed due to the shutter-down strike against the bomb blast. Anjuman-e-Tajiran and Awami National Party (ANP) had supported the strike. It is to be noted here that Hafiz Hamdullah was injured in a bomb blast in the Mastung district of Balochistan on Thursday. The bomb explosion targeted the vehicle in which Hamdullah was travelling. He was travelling to Mangochar town when he was targeted.

Eyewitnesses said that the vehicle of Hafiz Hamdullah slowed at a speed-breaker when a motorcycle rider attempted to attach a bomb to it. They added that the bomb could not be attached to the vehicle of Hafiz Hamdullah and exploded. “Had it been attached to the vehicle, it would have caused greater damage,” they stated. Later, in his video message from the hospital, Hafiz Hamdullah said that the blasts and attack could not shatter his resolve. “The saver is more powerful than the slayer,” the JUI leader had said while talking to media.

“Life and death are in the hands of Allah. The one who saves is more powerful than the one who slays,” he had added. “The blast was so powerful that the vehicle was severely damaged. There were four companions in the car and all are safe,” he had stated. “I am also perfectly healthy. We are used to blasts. In our history, there is a long list of such blasts,” he had said and appealed for prayers.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)