KARACHI: At least 52 people were killed and over 50 were injured in a suicide blast near a mosque in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.
Geo News reported that the explosion occurred near Madina Mosque in the Mastung district when people were gathering to mark Eid Miladun Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.
Mastung's deputy superintendent of Police (DSP) Nawaz Gashkori, who was present in the rally, was among the deceased.
City Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammad Javed Lehri said the explosion was a “suicide blast” and that the bomber exploded himself next to DSP's car.
Suicide attack on religious procession kills atleast 52, injures many in Balochistan
Lehri said that the wounded are being shifted to a medical facility while an emergency has been imposed in the hospitals.
Some of the injured were in critical condition.
Abdul Rasheed, a district health official, said that the number of fatalities could increase as many of them were in critical condition.
Balochistan interim information minister Jan Achakzai said rescue teams have been dispatched to Mastung. He added the critically injured persons are being transferred to Quetta and that an emergency has been imposed in all the hospitals.
“The enemy wants to destroy religious tolerance and peace in Balochistan with foreign blessings,” Achakzai said. “The explosion is unbearable.”
He further said caretaker Chief Minister Ali Mardan Domki has directed authorities to arrest those responsible for the blast.
Interim interior minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti strongly condemned the blast.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Another blast claims 3 lives in Khyber PakthunkhwaMeanwhile, three people were killed in another suicide blast in Khyber Pakthunkhwa province.
The explosion took place at the mosque in Hangu district, Doaba police station SHO Shahraz Khan said.
The blast occurred during the Juma prayers, he said, adding that 30 to 40 worshippers were there in the mosque at the time of the explosion.
[With agency inputs]