Eight people, including five children, were killed in Mastung district on Friday while 29 were injured in a bomb blast, drawing condemnation from Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti who lamented that terrorists had now started targeting innocent children along with poor labourers.
State broadcaster PTV News quoted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as saying that the explosion occurred at a “girls’ high school”, while another post by the outlet said the incident occurred “near Girls’ High School Chowk”.
However, Kalat Division Commissioner Naeem Bazai said that the attack took place at around 8:35am near the Mastung Civil Hospital which, according to Google Maps, is located a few meters away from the hospital.
“So far, seven individuals have been martyred, including five school students, while 17 others have sustained injuries,” Bazai confirmed to Dawn.com.
He added that a policeman was also martyred in the incident.
“It appears that an IED (improvised explosive device) attached to a motorcycle was detonated near a police mobile,” Bazai noted.
The injured were being treated at Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital and Mastung District Headquarters Hospital, with 11 of them later shifted to the Quetta Trauma Centre (QTC), according to Bazai.
Those shifted to Quetta included a five-year-old girl and a teenage boy, according to a list of patients issued by QTC Managing Director Arbab Kamran. Five of them were stated to be in a serious condition.
The deputy commissioner and assistant commissioner were overseeing the situation at the hospitals, Bazai said. He highlighted that the police have cordoned off the area to prevent any further incidents.
Earlier, Mastung District Police Officer (DPO) Miandad Umrani told Dawn.com that four policemen were among the injured.
He also stated that the deceased children were aged between five and 10 years. A police van and several auto-rickshaws were damaged as a result of the explosion, according to the DPO.
Footage from the incident site showed policemen and other people gathered near a charred police van.
‘Innocent children targeted’
CM Bugti said terrorists had now “targeted innocent children along with poor labourers”, apparently referring to a recent attack that killed five security guards in Panjgur.
In a statement on X, the chief minister condemned the blast, saying it was “inhumane”.
CM Bugti said terrorists had targeted children deeming them to be a “soft target”.
“We will avenge the murder of innocent children and people,” CM said, adding that civilians in urban areas also needed to be on the watch for the terrorists.
“The monster of terrorism can only be fought together,” he added.
PM Shehbaz and Acting President Yusuf Raza Gilani also condemned the “bomb blast at a Girls’ High School in Mastung”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
In their separate statements, they expressed deep grief over the death of children and a policeman in the incident, conveying their condolences to the bereaved families.
Gilani reiterated the resolve to root out terrorism from the country, asserting that terrorists were humanity’s enemies.
The “entire nation stands united to support the security forces and law enforcement agencies to eliminate terrorism”, he was quoted as saying.
PM Shehbaz said the “attack on a school was loud evidence of terrorists’ animosity towards education in Balochistan”.
He asserted such “cowardly acts of terrorists” could neither undermine the nation’s morale nor shake the Balochistan government’s unwavering resolve to promote education and development in the province.
The premier, the statement said, directed the authorities concerned to apprehend the perpetrators of the blast and give them an exemplary punishment.
He also instructed that the best medical treatment facilities be provided to the injured.
While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, the country, particularly the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, has seen a sharp uptick in terrorism-related incidents over the last few months.
Terror attacks declined by 24 per cent in September compared to August, but they witnessed surges in August and July, according to monthly security reports.
In 2023, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations. Overall fatalities, including those of outlaws, mark a record six-year high.
Earlier this month, a bomb blast in Khuzdar killed a Levies official and PPP leader Khan Muhammad Lotani’s son, while the politician was left injured as their pickup truck was targeted.
Last month, terrorists armed with automatic weapons stormed an under-construction house in Panjgur, killing seven labourers hailing from Multan. A day later, armed men attacked the camp of a private construction company in the Musakhel district, torching the machinery and vehicles there. No casualties were reported.
In May, a driver died while another three were missing when a convoy of six coal-laden trucks en route to Punjab from Duki coal fields came under a gun attack in Ziarat.
In January 2021, 11 coal miners belonging to the Shia Hazara community sleeping in their room were held at gunpoint, blindfolded and trussed up before being executed by unidentified attackers in the Mach coal field area. The militant Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the killing.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.
