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A blast inside a mosque in Quetta's Satellite Town area on Friday evening claimed 14 lives and left 20 people injured, Civil Hospital Spokesperson Dr Wasim Baig confirmed.
According to Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdul Razzaq Cheema and hospital sources, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amanullah and the mosque's imam were among the deceased.
What we know so far:
Explosion took place during Maghrib prayers
DSP, imam among the deceased
Nature of the blast yet to be determined
The nature of the explosion, which took place inside a mosque during Maghrib prayers in Ghousabad neighbourhood, has yet to be determined, police said.
The injured and the deceased were shifted to Quetta's Civil Hospital while an emergency was imposed in all hospitals of the city.
Bomb disposal squad (BDS) and security personnel are searching the mosque premises for evidence. It is located in a densely populated Pashtun-majority area.
TV footage of the explosion's aftermath showed debris and shattered glass strewn on the floor at the scene.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Meanwhile, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, tweeted that Frontier Corps personnel had reached the blast site and were carrying out a search operation along with police. “Every possible assistance be given to police and civil administration,” the tweet quoted Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as saying, adding that “those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, while condemning the incident, said that those who targeted worshippers have no religion or tribal affiliation. “They are only terrorists and deserve the harshest punishment,” he said, adding that state enemies are once again trying to create a law and order situation in Balochistan.
The chief minister said, however, that they will not let anyone destroy the hard-earned peace that had been achieved through the sacrifices of the armed forces and citizens.
Balochistan Home Minister Zia Langove also condemned the blast, saying that "terrorists were scared of Pakistan's development".
"Internal and external enemies are making failed efforts to create panic and unrest in the country," he said in a statement.
Langove vowed that "defeated terrorists will never be allowed to succeed". He expressed solidarity with the victims and said that no negligence will be tolerated in the medical treatment of the injured.
The incident comes three days after a motorcycle parked close to a Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle blew up in Quetta, leaving two people dead and another 14 injured. That blast had come after a respite of some weeks in what has traditionally been a violence-prone area.
In November, at least two FC personnel were martyred and five others injured in an explosion in Quetta’s Kuchlak area. The security personnel were on routine patrol in the area when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1527503/blast-inside-quetta-mosque-claims-14-lives-injures-20
According to Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdul Razzaq Cheema and hospital sources, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amanullah and the mosque's imam were among the deceased.
What we know so far:
Explosion took place during Maghrib prayers
DSP, imam among the deceased
Nature of the blast yet to be determined
The nature of the explosion, which took place inside a mosque during Maghrib prayers in Ghousabad neighbourhood, has yet to be determined, police said.
The injured and the deceased were shifted to Quetta's Civil Hospital while an emergency was imposed in all hospitals of the city.
Bomb disposal squad (BDS) and security personnel are searching the mosque premises for evidence. It is located in a densely populated Pashtun-majority area.
TV footage of the explosion's aftermath showed debris and shattered glass strewn on the floor at the scene.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Meanwhile, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, tweeted that Frontier Corps personnel had reached the blast site and were carrying out a search operation along with police. “Every possible assistance be given to police and civil administration,” the tweet quoted Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as saying, adding that “those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, while condemning the incident, said that those who targeted worshippers have no religion or tribal affiliation. “They are only terrorists and deserve the harshest punishment,” he said, adding that state enemies are once again trying to create a law and order situation in Balochistan.
The chief minister said, however, that they will not let anyone destroy the hard-earned peace that had been achieved through the sacrifices of the armed forces and citizens.
Balochistan Home Minister Zia Langove also condemned the blast, saying that "terrorists were scared of Pakistan's development".
"Internal and external enemies are making failed efforts to create panic and unrest in the country," he said in a statement.
Langove vowed that "defeated terrorists will never be allowed to succeed". He expressed solidarity with the victims and said that no negligence will be tolerated in the medical treatment of the injured.
The incident comes three days after a motorcycle parked close to a Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle blew up in Quetta, leaving two people dead and another 14 injured. That blast had come after a respite of some weeks in what has traditionally been a violence-prone area.
In November, at least two FC personnel were martyred and five others injured in an explosion in Quetta’s Kuchlak area. The security personnel were on routine patrol in the area when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1527503/blast-inside-quetta-mosque-claims-14-lives-injures-20
