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Central & South Asia
Three killed in Pakistan bus blast
Police say bomb in gas-rich Baluchistan province was detonated by remote control.
Last Modified: 09 Jun 2007 13:46 GMT
The bomb went off as the bus pulled up
outside a hotel [AFP]

Three people have been killed and nine others wounded by a bomb blast outside a hotel in a town in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, police said.
 
No one has claimed the responsibility for the blast that occured on Friday night in the southwestern province's industrial town of Hub, not far from the port city of Karachi.
The bomb went off just as a bus pulled up outside the hotel.
 
Abdullah Afridi, a senior police officer, said on Saturday: "It appears to be a remote-controlled bomb and went off soon after a bus carrying factory workers stopped outside the hotel, killing three people."
In the past, authorities have blamed such attacks on Baluch nationalists, who have fought against the government for decades to press for political autonomy and greater share of profits from the region's natural gas resources.
 

Baluch nationalists have also targeted government officials and infrastructure including gas pipeline and power pylons.

 

Decline in fighting

 

Such attacks were more frequent in early 2006, but dropped off after Pakistani forces killed Nawab Akbar Bugti, one of the main leaders, late last year.

 

Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, has promised an amnesty, and vowed to hunt down those who refuse to surrender.

 

Baluch nationalist groups accuse the government of exploiting their resources without passing on the benefits to people of the province.

 

Gas fields in Baluchistan meet much of Pakistan's demand. Musharraf is ploughing money into Baluchistan's infrastructure to create more economic opportunities.

Source:
Agencies
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