A suspected bomb blast injured former Maldives president and present parliament speaker Mohamed Nasheed on Thursday and he has been rushed to hospital, officers and residents stated. The explosion went off as Nasheed, 53, was entering into his automotive in the capital Male, an official from his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), informed AFP by phone.
“It appears like some type of an improvised explosive gadget, probably rigged as much as a parked motorbike,” the official said adding that an investigation was under way. There were no details of the injuries suffered by Nasheed. At least one of his bodyguards was also taken to hospital. Residents in Male said the blast was heard across  the capital.
Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar wished Nasheed a speedy recovery.
Deeply concerned at the attack on Speaker @MohamedNasheed. Wish him a speedy recovery. Know that he will never be intimidated.— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 6, 2021
Nasheed became parliament speaker, the Indian Ocean nation’s second most powerful position, following his party’s landslide victory in elections in April 2019.
He became the country’s first democratically elected president after winning the first multi-party elections in 2008.  He was toppled in a coup in 2012 and was unable to contest the 2018 presidential elections after he was convicted of criminal charges.
However, he returned to the country from self-imposed exile after his party won the 2018 presidential elections and then entered parliament. Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid strongly condemned the attack.
In a statement on Twitter, he said: “Cowardly attacks like these have no place in our society. My thoughts and prayers are with President Nasheed and others injured in this attack, as well as their families.”
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