Gwadar: A statue of Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah has been destroyed in a blast in Gwadar on the southwestern coast of Baluchistan province, local media said.

Dawn newspaper reported that the banned Baloch Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the bombing which took place on Sunday. The statue was completely destroyed.

The statue was erected early this year an area considered to be a safe zone. The Dawn report said some militants planted an explosive device beneath the statue and blew it up.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah is also called Qaid-i-Azam of Pakistan. He was a Muslim politician and leader of the All India Muslim League who founded Pakistan and served as its first Governor-General.

Baluchistan has been witnessing a spate of violence for several years. Last week, a Pakistani soldier was killed and two others were injured when militants attacked a security forces check post in Baluchistan province.

The attack happened in Mach area of the province at the check post of paramilitary troops Frontier Corps, Xinhua reported citing the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations' (ISPR) statement.