Islamabad:
Five people were killed and five others injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Khuzdar district of Pakistan’s volatile Balochistan province on Wednesday.
Naal Police Station House Officer (SHO) Bahawal Khan Pindrani stated that the explosion occurred when an IED attached to a motorcycle was remotely detonated. "The blast took place at Naal Market, and the injured have been transferred to the hospital," he said.
District Health Officer Rafiq Sasoli confirmed that two of the injured were in critical condition and that five bodies had been received at the morgue.
Pindrani added that the bomb disposal squad was present at the scene and conducting an inspection.
Khuzdar Senior Superintendent of Police Javed Zehri told a television channel that the blast happened near a college in the market area and also burned several vehicles.
He further stated that security forces’ timely intervention prevented another terrorist attack in Balochistan’s Pishin area. "Acting on intelligence, four terrorists were arrested in Pishin as they were planning an attack on Wednesday," he said.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the blast in a statement and directed authorities to provide the injured with the best available medical care. "Terrorism will be eradicated in all its forms," Bugti said. "Those hostile to peace will fail in their nefarious objectives, and the perpetrators of this incident will be brought to justice."
Balochistan has been grappling with violence for over two decades. On January 26, two people were killed and seven others injured in a car bomb explosion near a passenger bus traveling from Khuzdar to Rawalpindi.
The Islamabad-based think tank, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, reported that the country witnessed 79 terrorist attacks last month, resulting in the deaths of 55 civilians and 47 security personnel, while 45 civilians and 81 security personnel were injured.
During counter-terrorism operations, 156 terrorists were killed, 20 injured, and 60 arrested.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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