Pakistan: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Claims Responsibility For Shia Pilgrims Attack; Shiites Stage Sit-In Protests

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A pro-Taliban Takfiri Deobandi suicide bomber killed at least 28 Shiite pilgrims on a bus that was making its way through the Pakistan-Iran highway in Mastung district on Tuesday evening. Another 31 pilgrims, including women and children, were injured in the attack – which was claimed by the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

Shiite Muslims have staged sit-in protests at Alamdar Road, Queta, including different cities across the country. The protesters have demanded immediate arrest of outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) Chief Malik Ishaq and operation and terrorists.

Two buses with 103 pilgrims onboard were en route to Quetta from Taftan, a town in Chagai district that shares a border with Iran, officials said. The bomber struck one of the buses when it reached Dirangar village in Mastung, some 45 kilometres west of Quetta. “The targeted bus was carrying 51 pilgrims,” Assistant Commissioner Shafqat Shahwani told AFP. LeJ has ties to the Taliban, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), al-Qaeda, and Jundallah. In addition to receiving sanctuary from the Taliban in Afghanistan for their activity in Pakistan, LeJ members fought alongside Taliban terrorists. PML-N ruling government has also strong links LeJ and have never take action against the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is because it has “a seat-to-seat adjustment deal between the PML-N and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) during elections. PML-N and the ASWJ had jointly contested a by-election on a Punjab Assembly seat for Jhang in March 2010, and that Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had openly campaigned for a PML-N candidate in 2010 along with Maulana Ludhianvi (a leader of first the SSP and now the ASWJ).

A Lashkar-e-Jhangvi-linked alleged terror suspect who spent five years in jail on murder charges and had known links with a slain al-Qaeda linchpin Amjad Hussain Farooqi was given a ticket by ruling PML-N to run for a National Assembly seat from Gujrat.