Five martyred in Barkhan blast

Official says IED planted on motorcycle in Rakhni tehsil went off; 15 others also injured in attack

QUETTA:

At least five people embraced martyrdom and 15 others were injured on Sunday morning in a bomb explosion in Balochistan’s Rakhni tehsil of Barkhan district.

Barkhan Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Khoso said unidentified miscreants had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) on a motorcycle parked outside a barber shop.

The people injured in the blast were rushed to the Rakhni hospital.

At least four people were reported killed and multiple injured on Sunday after a bomb blast ripped through a market in Balochistan's Barkhan, police said.

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Khoso said 10 of them had suffered critical injuries and were referred to a medical facility in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab. However, one of them succumbed to injuries.

"Six of the injured people are being treated in Rakhni,” he added.

Police and levies personnel rushed to the scene and collected evidence for investigation.

The blast was heard throughout Rakhni – in fact it was so loud that it even caused panic in the nearby town located in the bordering Punjab.

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The explosion smashed the glasses of nearby shops and vehicles parked in the area.

The shopkeepers in the area pulled down shutters.

Unverified video clips circulating on social media showed bodies being carried away from the scene by volunteers.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo condemned the blast and directed the administration to ensure the provision of the best health facilities to the people injured in the incident.

In a statement issued after the blast, Bizenjo said the perpetrators of the attack would be brought to justice and none would be spared.

“Terrorists are creating uncertainty to achieve their evil goals. But we won’t allow anti-state elements to succeed,” he pledged.

Bizenjo also vowed that the government would adopt an effective counter-terrorism strategy.

He directed the administration to submit a report on the explosion.

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Security was tightened in Rakhni and all towns of Barkhan district in the aftermath of the blast.

Levies and policemen were deployed at all sensitive points of the district to maintain the law and order situation.

President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the blast and expressed their deep grief over the loss of lives.

According to separate statements issued by the President’s Secretariat and PM’s Office media wings, they offered their condolences to the bereaved families.

The president and prime minister prayed for the departed souls and for the early recovery of the people injured in the explosion.

The prime minister sought a report from the Balochistan chief minister and its police chief over the incident.

PM Shehbaz said terrorists, who were shedding innocent blood, could not escape "exemplary punishment".

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also condemned the blast, saying that the terrorists were “enemies of peace and development in Balochistan”.

He added that the terrorists would never succeed in achieving their nefarious designs.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that Pakistan was determined to root out those who targeted innocent citizens. “Terrorists have no religion or nation. They are brutal beasts in human form,” he added in a statement issued by the PPP media cell.

Bilawal, who is also the PPP chairman, expressed his “heartfelt condolences and solidarity” with the families of those who embraced martyrdom in the attack.

In a separate terrorist strike in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat city, a police vehicle was also attacked with an IED, injuring four cops including the SHO of the area.

A vehicle of the Lakki Marwat police station was passing by near the Saeed Khel graveyard when the blast occurred.

According to police, Lakki Marwat SHO Ghulam Razzak, accompanied by three other cops, was on a routine patrol when their vehicle was attacked with an IED near the railway crossing.

The injured policemen were admitted to Government City Hospital Lakki Marwat.

However, as one of them, Detective Foot Constable Abdul Hameed suffered serious injuries, he was transferred to Khalifa Gulnawaz Hospital in Bannu.

The other two injured policemen have been identified as constables Imdadullah and Rafiq.

After the attack, Lakki Marwat District Police Officer Ashfaq Khan and Sub-Divisional Police Officer Iqbal Mohmand reached the Government City Hospital to inquire after the condition of the injured cops.

In apparently a related development, a policeman was injured when unidentified terrorists attacked a checkpoint in the village Rohri located in Kulachi tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan district.

At the time when this report was filed, a gun battle was raging between the attackers and the police. DPO Abdul Rauf Babar Qaisarani has already left for the checkpoint. He has also directed the SHO of the area to reach there as soon as possible. Additional police personnel along with an armoured vehicle have also been dispatched to the scene.