A local leader of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), who was injured in a hand grenade attack at a party rally in Karachi a day earlier, succumbed to his injuries, reported 24NewsHD TV channel Thursday.

Rafique Tanoli was hospitalised in a critical condition as two unidentified bike riders threw a hand grenade and fled scene near Bait-ul-Mukarram Masjid in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. He was the head (nazim) of the JI’s local chapter in Malir district.

The rally was organised in connection with the Youm-e-Istehsal observed across the country on August 5 to condemn the revocation of the special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir in India as well as the attempts made by the Indian government since then to bring demographic changes in the region by allowing the Hindus from other parts of the country.

A total of 39 people were injured in the attack but most of them had received minor wounds and thus discharged from different hospitals within hours after being shifted from the blast site. 

Later, an outlawed outfit Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) claimed responsibility for the attack through social media.