Angry mob pelts stones at PTI leader's vehicle in Umerkot

Last updated on: 01 November,2019 04:58 pm

Haleem Sheikh was on his way back when the slogan-shouting crowd gheraoed his car.

UMERKOT (Dunya News) – An irate mob on Friday pelted the vehicle of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Haleem Adil Sheikh with stones.

The incident happened when the PTI leader visited Umerkot to express his condolences with the family members of the victims killed in yesterday’s tragic train incident.

Haleem Sheikh was on his way back when the slogan-shouting crowd gheraoed his car.

The group also pelted stones at the PTI leader’s vehicle, smashing its front and side windows. Haleem Adil Sheikh remained unharmed in the attack.

On Thursday, at least 74 passengers lost their lives and over 40 sustained burns when three carriages of a Tezgam Express caught fire due to explosion in gas canisters purportedly used by Tableeghi Jamaat passengers to cook breakfast near Talwari Station in Liaquatpur area of Rahim Yar Khan. The train was bound from Karachi to Rawalpindi.

Many commuters died and several were injured when they jumped from the moving train to escape the flames.

Emergency had been declared in all hospitals of the district. The wounded were rushed to hospitals in the nearby city of Bahawalpur and elsewhere in Rahim Yar Khan district.

Firefighters and Rescue 1122 teams extinguished the fire and evacuated other passengers from the train to safe places. The affected carriages were separated from the train. A cooling and search operation was underway under the supervision of Rahim Yar Khan’s deputy commissioner.

Pakistan Army soldiers assisted in relief and rescue efforts, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor. An army helicopter was also dispatched from Multan in order to rescue the injured, the ISPR statement added further.