Taliban attacks Pakistan judge
June 26, 2013
A motorcycle carrying a bomb detonated during morning rush hour near the motorcade of a High Court judge on Wednesday. At least six policemen and two paramilitary Rangers from the judge's security team died in the attack.
The Sindh High Court judge, Maqbool Baqir, sustained injuries and was transported to a hospital soon after the blast. He was reportedly in stable condition.
Baqir, a member of the minority Shiite community, had received threats for over a year, according to a local police official.
"He received threats from the Taliban and [extremist group] Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Other militants had also threatened him," police official Ameer Sheikh said.
Karachi, a city of over 18 million known for a high rate of violence, has seen a rise in sectarian and gang-related attacks in recent months.
A Taliban spokesperson later claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying that judge Baqir's verdicts went "against Islam and Muslims."
"He gave many un-Islamic decisions," Taliban spokesperson Ahsanullah Ahsan said.
The Taliban had also carried out an attack on a government supporter in the northwest Pakistan province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday. The victim's nephew and another relative, whose relationship to the victim was unclear, died in the attack.
kms/dr (AP, AFP, dpa)