- Blast takes place nearmosque where people were gathering to mark Eid Miladun Nabi.
- Information minister saysprovincial govt to bear all expenses.
- This is second major blast in Mastung over the last 15 days.
QUETTA/MASTUNG: At least 10 people were killed, including a police officer, while over 40 sustained injuries in an explosion in Balochistan’s Mastung district on Friday — the second major blast in the district in September.
Mastung Assistant Commissioner Atta Ul Munim said that the explosion took place near the mosque 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.
According to the district administration, Mastung’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nawaz Gashkori is among the deceased.
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.
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).
‘Wretched beasts’
Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, in a statement, condemned the blast and noted that the state had a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorists.
Interim Sindh Chief Minister Maqbool Baqar condemned the blast, according to a statement from his spokesperson.
The chief minister, the statement read, said that those involved in taking the lives of innocent people are the “enemies of humanity”.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP) leader Maulana Owais Noorani said in a post on X — formerly known as Twitter — that he was deeply saddened to hear about the deaths and injuries.
The political leader, who served as a special assistant to the prime minister in the previous government, termed those involved in the blast as “wretched beasts”.
Former Sindh governor Imran Ismail “strongly” condemned the terrorist attack in Mastung and slammed the terrorists for their cruel act of taking innocent lives.
“The whole nation stands with the people of Mastung in this difficult time,” he said, hoping the law enforcers would soon hold the terrorists accountable.
Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the blast as he expressed sorrow over the loss of previous lives.
He extended his sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones in the explosion.
Shehbaz Sharif, the former prime minister and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), expressed sorrow over the lost lives while condemning it.
“It is concerning to see a rise in such incidents in Mastung,” he said, asking the government to ensure that those injured received the best of the treatment.
Balochistan interim Interior Minister Zubair Jamali has condemned the Mastung blast, seeking a report of the incident.
Provincial caretaker Chief Minister Ali Mardan Khan Domki has announced three-day mourning across the province following the tragedy while Achakzai said the national flag will fly at half-mast on government buildings during the mourning period.
More to follow…
