Volunteers search the wreckage of a vehicle following a bomb attack on the outskirts of Quetta. PHOTO: AFP
A bomb, planted in a rickshaw, tore through a vehicle of the Balochistan Constabulary near Quetta Thursday morning, killing at least 12 personnel and a driver.
Another 17 people were also injured in the attack, which targeted a bus carrying around 21 personnel of the Rapid Response Group (RRG) of the Balochistan Constabulary, according to the police.
The blast occurred when the bus, which usually transports the personnel from Qasim Line to the main city for early morning duty, reached the Badini Road near Bussa Mandi in the Eastern Bypass area.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, security forces have launched a manhunt in different parts of Quetta and have detained six people for interrogation.
Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani told The Express Tribune that the remote-controlled bomb was planted in a rickshaw, which was parked at the roadside.
He regretted the intelligence failure in preventing the assault and assured that the culprits would be arrested.
Talking to reporters at the blast site, Deputy Inspector General police operation Faiz Ahmad Sumbul said, “Around 100kg of explosive material was used in the attack.”
Inspector General Police Mushtaq Sukhera told the media that terrorism could not be eradicated without the support of people. The sacrifices of the Balochistan Constabulary personnel would not go in vain as they have sacrificed their lives for the safety of people, he added.
The police chief praised security forces for performing their duties to ensure peace in the province. “A new security plan will be put in place in view of this incident,” he said.
Meanwhile, both Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi and Chief Minister Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Barozai condemned the attack, while Home Secretary Akbar Durrani announced compensation of Rs3 million each for the family of the deceased victims.
The victims were shifted to the Civil Hospital and Combined Military Hospital (CMH), where Health Secretary Mir Nasim Lehri declared emergency.
Funeral prayers for the deceased victims were offered at the Quetta police line, and were attended by Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fath Muhamamd, Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani, IG Police Musthaq Shukera, Personal Secretary to the CM Sarwar Javed, Quetta Commissioner Usman Gul, Balochistan Constabulary Commandant Ahsen Mehbob, and DIG Operation Fayaz Sumbul. The victims’ bodies were dispatched to their native towns for burial.
The deceased were identified as ASI Abdul Baqi, Constable Gul Mohamamd, Constable Javed Ahmed, Wakeel Ahmed, Sanaullah, Raz Muhamamd, Tahir Hussain, Ishaq Ahmed and the driver, Abdul Qadir, an employee of the civil secretariat.
Six killed in Sibi
At least six people, including five women, were killed, while two others sustained injuries in a firing incident on Noorpur Road, an area of Bakra Mandi of Sibi, on Thursday, Sibi Police Station Official Rahim Bakhsh, told The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2013.
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"Laganay agg jo aaye thay aashaane ko, woh sholay apne laluu se bhuja diye tumnay".
Inna Lillah He Wa Inna Elihe Rajeoon. Rest in peace beloved protectors.
I hope the nation acknowledges the sacrifices rendered by these shaheeds. Far too many good souls have been lost. Its time to rise against this menace of terrorism as a "Nation", That is the only solution to it.
Still want to negotiate with the Talibans? They are enemy of Pakistan and Islam and we should have realized that more than a decade ago.
Death of 12 soldiers are nothing, even mass murdered of 50,000 poor souls are nothing as long as our beloved talibans are happy.