Five injured in Quetta roadside bomb attack

QUETTA:

At least five persons including four laborers sustained injuries in a roadside explosion on Qambrani Road in Quetta on Monday.

According to police sources, unidentified miscreants had planted an improvised explosive device on the roadside which was detonated when Frontier Corps personnel patrolling on bikes were passing by.

Police said the patrolling FC soldiers miraculously survived the attack but four laborers belonging to Uzbekistan got injured in the attack.

Rescue services and police reached the site after being informed about the incident. They shifted the injured persons to Quetta Civil Hospital’s Trauma Centre for medical treatment.

Medical Superintendent Civil Hospital Dr Arbab Kamran Kasi said an emergency has been imposed in the hospital after the blast. He confirmed that five injured persons including a 10-year-old boy was admitted in the hospital.

The injured persons were identified as Bilal Ahmed, Gul Muhammad, Nizam-ud-Din, Najeebullah and Abdul Qadeer, he added.

The blast caused panic and fear gripped the area. All the shops were also closed down.

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Law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and further investigation into the incident is underway.

Balochistan Home and Tribal Affairs Minister Mir Ziaullah Langau and provincial spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani strongly condemned the cowardly attack on innocent citizens and directed the concerned officials to submit a report in this regard.

Expressing displeasure over the unfortunate incident, Chief Minister Jam Kamal said strict measures would be taken against those elements involved in the attack to bring them to justice, adding that nobody would be allowed to destabilize peace in the largest province of the country.

He maintained that such cowardly attack could not weaken their moral and all the nefarious designs of terrorists would be foiled at any cost in order to maintain durable peace.

“Some elements wanted to halt development of Balochistan through conspiracy and terrorist activities but the people of Balochistan stand with the provincial government and security forces including Pakistan Army to eliminate terrorism from the province,” CM Kamal said.

He also sought a report of the incident after the completion of inquiry and issued special instructions to relevant department to take all possible measures to enhance security measures in the respective areas of the province for ensuring protection of public lives.

The chief minister also directed the Health Department to provide the best healthcare facilities to the injured persons of the blast. He also prayed for early recovery of the injured

This is the second explosion in Balochistan within a week.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2021.