In a tragic incident, at least 52 people died and nearly 50 were left injured in a blast near a mosque in Balochistan’s Mastung district on Friday, reported Dawn. The news outlet quoted Mastung Assistant Commissioner Attahul Munim as confirming the casualties. According to Dawn, officials believe it was a suicide blast. Munim said that the explosion took place when people were gathering for an Eid Miladun Nabi (PBUH) procession near Madina Masjid at Alfalah Road.
Balochistan interim Information Minister Jan Achakzai said rescue teams have been dispatched to Mastung. As per Dawn, the minister said that the critically injured persons are being taken 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 was quoted as saying by Dawn. "The explosion is unbearable," he added.
He further said caretaker Chief Minister Ali Mardan Domki has instructed the authorities to arrest those responsible for the blast. Meanwhile, as per the report, PTI leader Imran Ismail strongly condemned the blast. He said, "Those who end innocent lives are oppressors and terrorists."
The interior ministry posted on X, "Interior Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti strongly condemned the blast near Madina Masjid in Mastung, expressed deep sorrow and regret over the loss of precious lives in the blast, the attack on innocent people who came to participate in the Eid Milad-ul-Nabi procession is a very heinous act, terror."
"All resources will be used in rescue operations and relief operations, no effort will be spared in treating the injured, terrorist elements do not deserve any concession, zero tolerance policy is being followed to deal with terrorists," Sarfaraz Bugti Ahmed Bugti said.
The Karachi police said that Additional Inspector General Khadim Husain Rind has asked the police to remain “completely on high alert” in view of the blast.
Last month, a suicide bomb attack killed nine men from Pak forces while over 15 were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to The Pakistan Telegraph, a suicide bomber on a motorbike had struck a security forces convoy in the Mali Khel area.
In July this year, the Islamic State group's suicide attack in Pakistan during a rally claimed the lives of at least 54 people. A statement issued on the jihadists' news arm Amaq stated that the suicide attacker who detonated an explosive jacket causing the blast belonged to the Islamic State. This comes after police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province said that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group is behind the attack.