31 die in suicide blast at Quetta polling station

Three soldiers, polling official die in Turbat ambush

QUETTA: As the nation went to the polls on Wednesday, terror reared its ugly head once again in restive Balochistan, where at least 31 people including two children were martyred and 37 sustained injuries in a suicide attack outside a polling station in Quetta.

In a separate incident, at least four people including three troops and a polling official also laid down their lives as a convoy of polling staff was ambushed in the wee hours of Wednesday in Buleda area of Turbat near the Pakistan-Iran border.

According to police, the suicide attack took place outside a polling station set up at Tameer-e-Nou Public School near Quetta’s eastern bypass on Wednesday morning.

“The terrorist was attempting to penetrate the polling station, but due to the heavy presence of the Frontier Corps (FC) and police officials, he detonated his vest near the security personnel.

“There was a queue of voters outside the station at that time,” said the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) DIG Aitzaz Goraya, while talking to media at the blast site.

Rescue workers and a heavy contingent of law enforcement agencies (LEA) rushed to the spot and shifted the bodies and the injured to Civil Hospital, Quetta. After the blast, an emergency was declared at the hospital.



According to the CTD official, Quetta DIG Abdul Razzaq Cheema was visiting the polling station when the attack occurred, hinting at the possibility that Cheema might have been the prime target.

“The LEAs have been a target in Balochistan but we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our forces. Cheema was on a routine visit and fortunately he is safe,” the CTD DIG said.

An eyewitness who was standing inside a shop near the polling station after casting his vote said the blast was so strong that it shattered the windows of dozens of shops and house. “I saw many people on the ground after the blast. The police also started aerial firing after the attack,” he said.

Polling at the station was suspended after the incident and many people returned home without casting their votes. However, after a delay of a few hours, the process was resumed amid heightened security.

Muhammad Atif, a political worker for an independent candidate, vowed that the terrorists cannot stop people from voting. “Despite the blast, people are coming to the polling stations and casting their votes to show the terrorists that they are voting for peace and Pakistan.”

Sharing his assessment of the explosive material used in the suicide attack, a bomb disposal team official said six to seven kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast.



The Islamic State (IS) terror group later claimed responsibility for the attack. IS had also taken credit for the July 13 Mastung blast, the deadliest attack of recent years which resulted in the deaths of 154 participants of a corner meeting.

Turbat attack

Separately, a military convoy that was escorting polling staff for the NA-271 constituency of Buleda was ambushed a near Pakistan-Iran border last night.

During the ambush that took place at Dashtuk area near Zaman Mountain Range four people including three troops – Sepoy Imran, 21, Sepoy Jahanzeb, 25 and Sepoy Akmal, 23 – and a schoolteacher Safiullah embraced martyrdom.

“Fourteen people including ten troops and four civilians also sustain wounds. Ten of the seriously injured people were evacuated to Karachi while four of them were shifted to Turbat’s district headquarters hospital. Later, polling took place at the station as planned,” said an official.

“Despite the attack, the security forces later ensured the move of polling staff to the designated place, where polling continued as per plan,” he added.

Up to 63,000 security personnel from the Pakistan Army, the FC, police, Balochistan Levies have been deployed across Balochistan to maintain law and order in the province during the polls.