53 killed, scores injured in suicide blast near 12th Rabiul Awwal procession in Mastung
QUETTA/MASTUNG: The casualties in the suicide blast in Balochistan’s Mastung district on Friday crawled up to 52, which included a police officer, while 60 others were reportedly injured as per the district administration.
The deadly blast, the second major blast in the district in September, ripped through an area near a mosque, leaving 43 dead on the spot.
Mastung district administration said that 51 wounded people were shifted to Quetta.
It said that Mastung’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nawaz Gashkori is among the deceased.
Balochistan police chief said that the cop tried to stop the suicide bomber upon suspicion when the latter blew himself up. He said that three police constables are also among the injured.
Earlier, Assistant Commissioner Atta Ul Munim said that the explosion took place where people were gathering to mark Eid Miladun Nabi — the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The AC said that the explosion — which law enforcers believe is a suicide blast — took place near Madina Mosque. He said that the people had to participate in a procession later.
Provincial Caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai said those critically injured in the blast are being shifted to Quetta with emergency enforced across the city’s hospitals.
Achakzai said that if required, arrangements should be made for the immediate transfer of the seriously injured to Karachi. The hospitals in Karachi are being contacted on behalf of the health department, he added.
“The provincial government will bear all the expenses for the treatment of the injured,” he highlighted.
The district administration of Quetta said that more than 30 injured in the blast are being transferred to Shaheed Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital.
The hospital management said medical aid was being provided to the injured.
Balochistan Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Khalique Shaikh said DSP Mastung embraced martyrdom while stopping the suicide bomber.
“The aim of terrorism is to create insecurity and instability in Balochistan. Action has been ordered against the elements involved in the blast and those supporting it,” he said.
The IG added that three more police officials were injured in the explosion, while details of casualties will be released soon.
“The bomber detonated himself near the vehicle of the Deputy Superintendent of Police,” Munir Ahmed, the deputy inspector general of police, told Reuters.
At least 58 people were wounded in the Balochistan blast, said Abdul Rasheed, a district health official, adding that the toll could rise as many people were in serious condition.
Television footage of the attack’s aftermath showed hundreds of people helping the injured into ambulances.
This is the second major blast that has terrorised Mastung over the last 15 days. In the previous blast on September 14, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah and several others were injured.
Mastung has remained a target of terror attacks for the past several years with a major attack in July 2018 being one of the deadliest in the district’s history during which over 200 were injured and at least 128 were killed, including Mir Siraj Khan Raisan — a provincial assembly candidate from the then-newly-formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).
