Faqir Jamshed Ahmad Gesu Daraz, leader of the Pakistan Seraiki Party (PSP [5]), and two guards were killed in a bomb blast while driving to a Sufi shrine at in Kulachi Tehsil village of Dera Ismail Khan municipality in Pakistan's Pakhtunkhwa province on Aug. 4. Thousands had gathered at the shrine for a celebration, where Faqir Jamshed was to preside in his capacity as a spiritual leader of the Seraiki [6] people. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast, but Kulachi Tehsil is regarded as stronghold of the Waziristan Taliban. Faqir Jamshed earlier belonged to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf [7] political party, but had recently been expelled. The Tehreek-i-Insaf has recently come under criticism for its increasing sympathy with the Taliban [8]. (RFE/RL [9], Aug. 6; Pak Tribune [10], Aug. 5; Dawn [11], Reuters [12], Aug. 4)
