Suicide bombers attacked a court complex in Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least four people, officials said, in the latest incident in a new surge of Islamist violence.A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for the attack in the northwestern town of Charsadda.The district administration said at least four people were killed. A witness told Reuters he had seen "many" dead bodies at the scene.A string of bombings in Pakistan over the past 10 days has killed more than 100 people.Town resident Mohammad Shah Baz told Reuters he was inside the judicial complex when the suicide bombers stormed it."I escaped towards the canteen and climbed the wall to save my life. But there were many people dead and injured," he said.District police chief Sohail Khalid said at least one of the attackers blew himself up and another opened fire at the main entrance of the court compound before they were shot and killed.Jamaat-ur-Ahrar spokesman Asad Mansoor claimed responsibility the attack in a message to journalists. He said fighting was still going on at the court. </s> A suicide bomber struck police escorting a protest rally in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and wounding nearly 60 in an attack claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction.

The blast ripped through the crowd of hundreds of pharmacists, who were protesting new amendments to a law governing drug sales. Six police officers, including a former provincial counterterrorism chief, were among those killed, police said.

Police initially said the attacker was on a motorcycle, but provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah later said that closed-circuit footage revealed the bomber was on foot.

Sameer Ahmad, the Lahore deputy commissioner, said at least 13 people were killed and 58 wounded, including nine who were in critical condition.

Live TV registered a loud bang and showed smoke and fire billowing up as people ran away, some of them carrying the wounded.

“We just couldn’t understand what happened,” Tufail Nabi told local Geo News TV. “It was as if some big building collapsed,” he said as he limped away.

A group called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed the attack in a text message, saying it was revenge for Pakistani military operations against Islamic militants in tribal regions along the Afghan border.

The group, which claimed a number of large attacks last year, is one of several splinter factions from the Pakistani Taliban, which has repeatedly targeted security forces and religious minorities. In recent years, Pakistan has launched several offensives against the Taliban and other Islamic militants in the tribal regions.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to continue fighting terrorism “until we liberate our people of this cancer and avenge those who have laid down their lives for us.”

Elsewhere in Pakistan, a roadside bomb killed two members of a bomb disposal squad on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta, said police officer Abdur Razzaq Cheema. Another eight people were wounded, he said. A Taliban-linked group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, said it planted the bomb. </s> Quetta: Three paramilitary soldiers and a policeman were killed when gunmen opened fire in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta on Saturday, officials said, in the latest outbreak of violence in restive Baluchistan province.

“Three paramilitary soldiers and one policeman have been killed while a passerby has been injured in an attack on the paramilitary troops," local police official Syed Zahid Hussain said.

The incident was also confirmed by a spokesman from the local paramilitary force.

The shooting was claimed by the Al-Alami faction of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) group, according to a statement released by a spokesman.

Last month, the outfit said it worked with the Islamic State group to execute a massive night raid on a police college that killed 61 people, the deadliest assault on a security installation in Pakistan’s history.

Mineral-rich Balochistan province, of which Quetta is capital, has been plagued for decades by a separatist insurgency and sectarian killings.

In August, a suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital claimed by the Islamic State group and the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar wing of the Pakistani Taliban killed 73 people, including many of the city’s lawyer community who had gone there to mourn the fatal shooting of a colleague.

In August, a suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital claimed by the Islamic State group and the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar wing of the Pakistani Taliban killed 73 people, including many of the city’s lawyer community who had gone there to mourn the fatal shooting of a colleague. </s> 14 Feb, LAHORE, Pakistan: A suicide bomber struck police escorting a protest rally in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Monday, killing at least 13 people and wounding nearly 60 in an attack claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction.

The blast ripped through the crowd of hundreds of pharmacists, who were protesting new amendments to a law governing drug sales. Six police officers, including a former provincial counterterrorism chief, were among those killed, police said.

Police initially said the attacker was on a motorcycle, but provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah later said that closed-circuit footage revealed the bomber was on foot.

Sameer Ahmad, the Lahore deputy commissioner, said at least 13 people were killed and 58 wounded, including nine who were in critical condition.

Live TV registered a loud bang and showed smoke and fire billowing up as people ran away, some of them carrying the wounded.

“We just couldn’t understand what happened,” Tufail Nabi told local Geo News TV. “It was as if some big building collapsed,” he said as he limped away.

A group called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed the attack in a text message, saying it was revenge for Pakistani military operations against Islamic militants in tribal regions along the Afghan border.

The group, which claimed a number of large attacks last year, is one of several splinter factions from the Pakistani Taliban, which has repeatedly targeted security forces and religious minorities. In recent years, Pakistan has launched several offensives against the Taliban and other Islamic militants in the tribal regions.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to continue fighting terrorism “until we liberate our people of this cancer and avenge those who have laid down their lives for us.”

Washington condemned the Lahore attack and extended condolences to the victims and their families. “We stand with the people of Pakistan in their fight against terrorists and remain committed to the security of the South Asia region,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, a roadside bomb killed two members of a bomb disposal squad on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta, said police officer Abdur Razzaq Cheema. Another eight people were wounded in the explosion, he said.

A Taliban-linked group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, said it planted the bomb.AP </s> DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Taliban gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle and killed four officers in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, officials said, in a region once riven by militant violence but since cleared following military crackdowns.

The ambush, claimed by the Hizbul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, was the first major attack in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since a suicide blast killed a candidate in the lead-up to the July general election.

“The officers were out patrolling the area when six to seven people who were waiting for them opened fire on their vehicle,” senior police official Mohammad Iqbal told Reuters.

“The assailants were seated at a local tea stall and opened fire when the police vehicle approached.”

Iqbal said four police were killed and three people were wounded. Among the wounded is a senior police officer said to be in critical condition.

“Today Hizbul Ahrar target killers ... made a police vehicle their target,” the group’s spokesman, Aziz Yousafzai, said in a statement sent to Reuters via Whatsapp.

Dera Ismail Khan is on the edge of Pakistan’s former tribal areas that border Afghanistan, large swaths of which were once controlled by the Pakistani Taliban before military operations in 2009 and 2014 ended militant control of the region. </s> KARACHI: At least five people were killed and many others were wounded in what appeared to be a sectarian attack in Karachi on Saturday, police said. The death toll is feared to go up as at least two people are critically injured. The gun attack took place in a residential area near a police station...

The death toll is feared to go up as at least two people are critically injured.The gun attack took place in a residential area near a police station in Nazimabad No 4 area of the city. A Rangers station is located merely half a kilometer from the attack site.According to police, two gunmen riding a bike entered a street in Nazimabad and attacked a majlis (Shia religious gathering) which was under way in a tent.Rescue officials confirmed that five people perished in the firing incident. Those killed or injured in the attack were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.Police and Rangers reached the scene, cordoned off the area and launched a probe.Initial probe suggests that there were four attackers. Two assailants targeted the male participants of the majlis while their accomplices gave them a cover.According to an eyewitness, two gunmen wearing helmets opened fire on the male section of the majlis at 5:45 and escaped.Taking notice of the incident, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah made a telephone call to Sindh police chief and asked him to bring the perpetrators of the terrorist attack to justice.On the other hand, IG police Mushtaq Mehr asked for a report about the attack.According to the police, many empty shells of 9mm firearm were recovered from the scene of attack.Police say they were not informed about the majlis.In a press atement, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali condemned the terrorist attack. - SAMAA </s> QUETTA : Four members of a Christian family were gunned down in Quetta on Monday.

The family was travelling in a rickshaw when armed men on a motorcycle intercepted them and opened fire in Quetta city.

A woman was rushed to hospital. Her father and three cousins were killed. “It appears to have been a targeted attack,” provincial police official Moazzam Jah Ansari said. “It was an act of terrorism,” he added. The attack comes a day after Pakistan’s Christian community celebrated Easter on Sunday. Around two per cent of Pakistan’s population are Christians.

Separately, at least five persons including Levies personnel were killed and five others sustained injuries in a clash between two groups at Qambarani Road area.

According to police sources, two groups opened fire upon each other over a dispute. As a result, four people were killed on the spot while seven other received wounds.

The bodies including Levies personnel Naveed Ahmed, Takri Ghulam Rasool Bangulzai, Bashir Ahmed and Abdul Hameed and the injured were rushed to Civil hospital. One of the injured Amanullah succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

Three injured were identified as Pir Muhammad, Machi Khan and Abudl Hameed while two other injured were not yet identified. The bodies of the deceased were handed over to the heirs after completion of medico-legal formalities. Police registered a case and started investigation.

Some unidentified armed men shot dead a man near National Highway near Dasht area of Mastung district on Monday. According to Levies sources, Muhammad Azam was gunned down by some unknown armed assailants near National Highway. The attackers fled from the scene after the incident.

The body of deceased was handed over to the heirs after completion of medico-legal formalities. Levies force registered a case and started investigation. </s> Suicide bombers attacked a court complex in Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least four people, officials said, in the latest incident in a new surge of Islamist violence. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for the attack in the northwestern town of Charsadda.

Start the conversation, or Read more at South China Morning Post. </s> Ahsan Iqbal, 59, sustained a bullet wound on his right shoulder.

Pakistan's interior minister Ahsan Iqbal was on Sunday shot at and injured in a suspected assassination bid after he addressed a rally in Punjab province, police said. (Photo: File)

Lahore: Pakistan's interior minister Ahsan Iqbal was on Sunday shot at and injured in a suspected assassination bid after he addressed a rally in Punjab province, police said.

Iqbal, 59, sustained a bullet wound on his right shoulder. He was attending a corner meeting in Narowal's Kanjrur Tehsil when the incident occurred, the police was quoted as saying by Dawn News. He was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, the report said.

Family sources confirmed that the interior minister is being shifted to Lahore.

The suspect has reportedly been taken into custody, according to police.

District Police Officer Imran Kishwar said that the attacker used a 30-bore pistol to fire at Iqbal from a distance of around 18 metres.

"One of the shooters has been arrested and (is) being interrogated by the police," Punjab government said in a Twitter message.

Confirming the incident, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Tallal Chaudhry said Iqbal was out of danger.

The arrested suspect is 20-22 years old, he added.

Corner meetings become common as elections come close with politicians interacting with supporters and common people.
Four Pakistani police officers are shot dead by a Jamaat-ul-Ahrar splinter group. Three additional officers are injured.