Barber shop bomb kills one man, wounds 21 in Pak

Quetta (Pakistan), Apr 10: A bomb blast in a barber shop killed one man and wounded 21 other people in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan today, officials said.

The blast occurred a day after Pakistan's government banned the Baluch Liberation Army (BLA), and listed the shadowy militant group as a ''terrorist'' organisation.

The BLA is fighting, along with ethnic Baluch tribal militants, for more autonomy for the mineral-rich province, home to Pakistan's largest gas fields.

The explosion damaged adjacent shops in the main market of Kohlu, senior official Nasim Lehri told Reuters from the town, about 450 km east of the provincial capital, Quetta.

Lehri said several of the wounded were in serious condition.

The security situation worsened in December after a rocket attack during a visit by President Pervez Musharraf to Kohlu.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for today's bomb attack but officials suspected the rebels.

Militants have been fighting for more autonomy and control over Baluchistan's oil and gas resources for decades but they intensified their campaign over the past year.

Baluchs complain of a lack of political representation and resent their resources being used to benefit Pakistan's other regions, most notably the populous Punjab province.

REUTERS