Bomb Blast In Pakistan: At Least 52 Dead, Over 50 Injured

A suspected suicide blast near a mosque in Balochistan's Mastung district on Friday claimed the lives of at least 52 individuals, including a police officer, and left approximately 50 others injured, according to officials.

Abdul Razzaq Shahi, the District Health Officer (DHO), confirmed the fatalities to Dawn.com. Mohammad Javed Lehri, the City Station House Officer (SHO), mentioned that one of the deceased was a police officer.

The explosion took place when people were gathering to mark Eid Miladun Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.

Lehri said that the wounded are being shifted to a medical facility while an emergency has been imposed in the hospitals.

Balochistan interim Information Minister Jan Achakzai said rescue teams have been dispatched to Mastung. He added the critically injured persons are being transferred to Quetta and that an emergency has been imposed in all the hospitals.

"The enemy wants to destroy religious tolerance and peace in Balochistan with foreign blessings," Achakzai said. "The explosion is unbearable."

He further said caretaker Chief Minister Ali Mardan Domki has directed authorities to arrest those responsible for the blast.

Meanwhile, interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti strongly condemned the blast.

In a blast earlier this month in the same district caused injuries to a total of 11 individuals, including Hafiz Hamdullah, a leader of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).

A week before this, unidentified individuals shot a Levies official at a bus stand, resulting in his death. Additionally, two bystanders suffered injuries during the incident.

In May of this year, unknown assailants targeted a polio vaccination team in the Killi Sour Karez area near Mastung and a policeman lost his life in the incident.