BNP-M leader Habib Jalib Baloch shot dead

[Pak_Army]

QUETTA: Central Secretary-General of the Balochistan National Party - Mengal (BNP - M) and former senator Habib Jalib Baloch was shot dead in Quetta on Wednesday.

Jalib, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, was on his way to the court when he was killed by three unknown assailants riding a motorbike in Quetta’s Musa Colony area.

The BNP-M leader’s body was shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta.

According to a report in The Baloch Hal, the Baloch Muslha Defai Tanzeem, a hitherto unknown underground group, claimed responsibility for the killing.

A spokesman for the group, who identified himself as Mir Jhang Khan, called the Naushki Press Club and claimed responsibility for the killing of the senior BNP leader.

Jalib had previously escaped a similar assassination attempt on his life when unidentified men had opened fire on a BNP rally in Quetta, The Baloch Hal reported.

Moscow-educated Jalib was a prominent Baloch intellectual and a former chairman of the Baloch Students Organisation.

After the assassination, the BNP-M announced a 40-day-long mourning period.

Chief Minister Balochistan Aslam Raisani condemned the attack on Jalib and ordered an immediate report from Inspector-General Balochistan in this regard.

Moreover, a meeting of high-ranking provincial government officials was ongoing to review the security situation in the region.