Pakistan opposition party leader, 2 others killed in bomb blast

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A bomb blast Saturday in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan killed three people, including an opposition leader, and injured 17 others, local authorities said.

near the border with Afghanistan.

Maulana Mohammad Hanif, a leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, died in the explosion, which occurred in front of the JUI-F leader's office near the border with Afghanistan, police said, according to Geo News.

A 12-year-old child also died, Chaman district police officer Shaukat Mohmand told Dawn News.

Police blamed the blast on an improvised explosive device planted in a motorcycle parked on the roadside. The explosion shattered windows of nearby buildings.

Police said Hanif, who died from his injuries on the way to a hospital, was the target of the bomb. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Authorities increased security in the area because of the presidential election taking place in Afghanistan.

JUI-F opposes Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government

Khan "expresses deep sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives," a post on the government's Twitter account said.

Other JUI-F members have been targeted before.

In May 2017, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a former Senate deputy chairman, was injured in a suicide attack on his convoy in the Mastung area. The attack killed at least 28 people and injured 39 others.

In 2014, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the party chief, survived a suicide attack in Quetta after addressing a public meeting at Sadiq Shaheed Ground.

Fazl-ur-Rehman described the latest blast as a conspiracy against peace.