13 injured in Kharan bazaar bomb blast

At least 13 people were injured in an IED attack at Kharan Bazaar in Balochistan on Tuesday.

A police official informed that unknown miscreants had attached an improvised explosive device (IEDs) with a motorbike and parked it near the main square in Kharan which went off with a big bang. As a result, 13 people were left injured.

The law enforcement agencies along with bomb disposal unit reached the site and cordoned off the entire area.

They inspected the site of the attack and collected debris of the bike used in the blast.

The injured were shifted to district headquarters hospital who were identified as Abid, Sanaullah, Faisal, Muhammad Asif, Hazoor Bakhsh, Abdul Malik, Nazir Ahmed, Muhammad Eisa, Ikhlaq Ahmed, Munir Ahmed, and Ahmed. Further investigations were underway.

This is the second attack of its kind in a main and busy market place in Balochistan. On Sunday two civilians were killed in a similar blast in Panjgur bazaar. It also inflicted damage on vehicles as well as shops in the market. The IED device had been planted inside a bike which had been parked by a roadside. Police said that a vehicle of the security forces was the real target as the blast occurred when the vehicle was crossing the bike.

Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo condemned the blast in the district, calling it an act of terrorism and ordered an inquiry.

“Anti-state elements want to disrupt peace in the province,” said CM Bizenjo. “The people of the province stand by their security forces to eradicate the scourge of terrorism,” he added.

The provincial chief executive directed authorities concerned to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2021.