Islamabad:
Five people were killed and five others injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Khuzdar district of Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Wednesday.
Naal police Station House Officer (SHO) Bahawal Khan Pindrani said that the explosion took place after an IED attached to a motorcycle was detonated by a remote device.
“The blast took place at Naal Market and the injured have been moved to the hospital,” he said.
District Health Officer Rafiq Sasoli said the condition of two of the injured was serious and they had got five bodies in the morgue.
Khan said the bomb disposal squad was present at the spot and inspecting the site.
Khuzdar Senior Superintendent of Police Javed Zehri told a television channel that the blast occurred near a college in the market’s vicinity and burnt vehicles too.
He said security forces’ timely action prevented another terror attack in Balochistan’s Pishin area.
“Acting on intelligence, four terrorists were arrested in Pishin as they were planning a terror attack on Wednesday,” he added.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the blast in a statement, adding that orders were issued to provide the injured with the best medical care available.
“Terrorism will be eradicated in all its forms,” Bugti was quoted as saying. “Elements hostile to peace will fail in their nefarious objectives and those involved in this incident will be brought to justice.” Balochistan has been braving violence for more than two decades. On January 26, two people were killed and seven others injured in a car bomb explosion close to a passenger bus travelling from Khuzdar to Rawalpindi.
The Islamabad-based think tank, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, has said that the country has already 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.
It said during counter-terrorism operations, 156 terrorists have been killed, 20 injured and another 60 arrested.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
