Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of Maldives who is the current leader of the country’s parliament, was in critical condition on Friday after a bombing near his home, hospital officials said.
The Maldives police confirmed injuries to Mr. Nasheed in the attack, which happened late Thursday night, and called it “an act of terror” that was under investigation.
The ADK hospital in the capital, Malé, where Mr. Nasheed is being treated, said he had undergone multiple surgeries.
“Over the course of past 16 hours he had life-saving surgery on injuries to his head, chest, abdomen and limbs,” the hospital said on Twitter. “He remains in a critical condition in intensive care.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But officials, including Mr. Nasheed, have expressed concern about Islamic State recruitment in the Maldives, a small island nation and major tourist attraction south of India.
Mr. Nasheed became the first democratically elected president of Maldives in 2008, but was forced to resign in 2012 in a murky episode that he has described as coup. His term in office was symbolized by his strong advocacy for action against climate change, to which the island nation remains particularly vulnerable. He even held an underwater cabinet meeting to highlight the risks.
He returned to Malé after his Maldivian Democratic Party won the elections in 2018 and his friend and confidant Ibrahim Mohamed Solih became president of the country. Mr. Nasheed was elected to parliament and was selected as speaker.
“We are treating this matter with utmost seriousness, and the investigation is currently underway,” President Solih said after the attack.
An aide to Mr. Nasheed said he was leaving home late Thursday evening, walking down a narrow lane to meet his security detail and car waiting for him at the other end, when a bomb placed under the seat of a motorbike parked nearby went off. The Maldivian parliament, in a statement, said three of Mr. Nasheed’s bodyguards and a citizen of the United Kingdom were also injured.
Mr. Nasheed remained in post operation recovery late on Friday after several operations, his aide said.
“The surgery is finished. Thank god, he is safe and stable,” Mr. Nasheed’s brother, Ibrahim Nasheed, said on Twitter.
Source : Nytimes
