52 people were killed and over 100 injured in a suicide bombing in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province
Local media in Pakistan’s Balochistan region said that a “suicide blast” near a mosque resulted in at least 52 fatalities and more than 100 injuries on Friday. According to Pakistan’s Dawn, which cited the assistant commissioner of Mastung district, the explosion occurred in the Mustang region of the southwest province as people gathered for a religious parade commemorating the birthday of Prophet Mohammed.
Nawaz Gashkori, the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in Mastung, was among those murdered, local police said Dawn. The on-duty police officer was apparently inside the vehicle when the alleged suicide bomber reportedly detonated the explosives nearby.
According to interim Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai, rescue crews have been sent to Mastung. According to Dawn, the minister said that all hospitals have been placed under an emergency and that the seriously wounded people are being sent to Quetta.
According to Achakzai, who was cited by Dawn, “the enemy wants to destroy religious tolerance and peace in Balochistan with foreign blessings.” He said, “The explosion is intolerable.
He said that interim Chief Minister Ali Mardan Domki has given the go-ahead for the police to arrest individuals responsible for the explosion. Imran Ismail, the PTI leader, reportedly harshly denounced the explosion in the meanwhile. He declared: “Oppressors and terrorists are those who take innocent lives.”
Social media videos showed mutilated limbs laying about and people scattered across the road. Relief and rescue efforts are underway, and the area has been closed off.
At least 11 individuals were hurt in the same neighborhood earlier this month when there was an explosion. August of this year saw the most assaults on Pakistan since 2014, totaling the most monthly strikes.
An Islamabad-based think group claims that in the first eight months of 2023, Pakistan had 22 suicide attacks, resulting in 227 fatalities and 497 injuries.
