By Tahir Sherani
The government has decided to deploy Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel outside the residence of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Dera Ismail Khan city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over security concerns.
The interior ministry has written a letter to the Frontier Constabulary commandant in Peshawar to deploy 鈥渙ne platoon鈥 of FC personnel at the residence of the JUI-F chief 鈥渢o avoid any untoward situation鈥.
The decision has been taken on the directives of the prime minister for security purposes and recent incidents involving the JUI-F鈥檚 chief son, Asjad Mahmood.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently visited Fazl鈥檚 residence in Islamabad and expressed concern over the attack and attempted kidnapping of the JUI-F chief鈥檚 son, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
The prime minister expressed deep concern over the assault and foiled kidnapping attempt on Mahmood and inquired about his health, according to a statement from the PM鈥檚 Media Office.
PM Shehbaz issued immediate directives to arrest those involved in the attack and ensure swift legal action.
JUI-F leaders have come under attack in recent years in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On May 15, a powerful explosion targeted the vehicle of local JUI-F leader Maulana Noorullah near a seminary in South Waziristan.
Police said the bomb attack was carried out to target Maulana Noorullah, who remained unharmed. The JU-F leader was accompanied by local party leaders Maulana Ishaq and Maulana Amanullah when the blast occurred.
On March 14 this year, a bomb exploded at a mosque in South Waziristan district during Friday prayers, injuring JUI district chief Abdullah Nadeem and three others, police said. Nadeem was seriously wounded, while three others, also belonging to the JUI, sustained minor injuries.
On April 25, a local JUI-F leader and two women were killed and five others were injured in a roadside explosion near Kalat district.
The incident occurred in the Kapootu area when a pickup vehicle carrying eight people was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the roadside near Killi Kapootu, according to Levies officials.
The vehicle was coming from Kalat when the blast took place. The pickup was driven by JUI-F local leader and union council member Maulana Abdullah Nachari.
In another incident on March 2, two leaders of JUI-F Balochistan were killed in the Zehri area of Khuzdar district in Balochistan.