MASTUNG: At least nine people, including five children, were killed in Mastung district on Friday while 29 were injured in a bomb blast.
Kalat Division Commissioner Naeem Bazai said that the attack took place at around 8:35am near the Mastung Civil Hospital. He said that the blast was apparently carried out with the help of an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to a motorcycle that was detonated near a police mobile.
“Among the deceased are five girls, one boy, one police officer, and two other civilians,” he said. “The bodies have been transferred to Civil Hospital Mastung, Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Memorial Hospital, and Civil Hospital Quetta, and were handed over to the families after necessary procedures.”
Agencies adds: The blast occurred near a police van at a chowk near the Civil Hospital and a girls’ school which targeted a police vehicle near Civil Hospital Chowk. Police and Rescue teams reached the site soon after the blast and shifted the injured and the dead to the DHQ Hospital. A police mobile van was destroyed in the blast while several other vehicles and rickshaws were damaged.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti condemned the blast expressing grief over the loss of lives. He extended condolences to the relatives of the martyred policeman and schoolchildren.
“Terrorists have now targeted innocent children along with labourers,” said Bugti, resolving to avenge the blood of innocent citizens including children. He added that locals among the civilian population also have to keep an eye on the terrorists. “The monster of terrorism can only be fought together.”
Acting President Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi also strongly condemned the bomb blast at a girls’ high school in Mastung district, killing five children, a policeman and a passerby.
In their separately issued messages, they expressed grief over the death of children and a policeman and conveyed their condolence to the bereaved families, also praying for strength for them to bear the loss. They reiterated the resolve for continuous action against terrorism till its elimination.
“The terrorists are the enemies of humanity. The whole nation stands united to support the security forces and law enforcement agencies against terrorists,” Gilani said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz instructed the authorities concerned to apprehend the perpetrators of the blast and take them to task, besides directing the best possible medical treatment of the injured.
“The attack on a school is the manifestation of terrorists’ animosity to education in Balochistan. Such cowardly acts can neither undermine the nation’s morale nor that of Balochistan’s government to promote education and development. The whole nation feels proud of its policemen and soldiers for their sacrifices to safeguard the country,” the prime minister remarked.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday strongly condemned an explosion near Civil Hospital Chowk in Mastung, which claimed the lives of five children, a passerby and a police officer.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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