Militants blast Jinnah’s residence in Balochistan

The Residency, a national monument located in Balochistan province, was used by Jinnah during his last days.

June 15, 2013 10:45 am | Updated June 07, 2016 07:57 am IST - Islamabad

Baloch militants on Saturday blasted a >121-year-old building used by Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah at Ziarat and raked it with gunfire, triggering a fire that blazed for four hours, destroying furniture and memorabilia. A policeman was killed in the shooting.

Militants of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) set off five bombs in the Quaid-e-Azam Residency and then fired at the building at 1.15 a.m.

They removed a Pakistani flag and raised the flag of their outfit in its place, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said. Five militants were involved in the attack.

Television channels, showing footage of the collapsed building, reported that the BLA claimed responsibility for the attack.

District police chief Asghar Ali said a bomb disposal squad defused six more bombs, each filled with three kg of explosives. It took longer than expected for the fire to be put out as there were no fire tenders at Ziarat, a holiday resort, and one had to be summoned from the provincial capital Quetta, which is 120 km away.

Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search.

The Residency, built in 1892, was originally used as the summer residence of the Agent of the British Governor-General. Jinnah spent the last days of his life there as he suffered from tuberculosis. It was later declared a national monument.

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