Pakistan: Over 50 people killed in blast in Balochistan's Mastung

Islamabad [Pakistan]: At least 52 people including a police officer were killed and around 50 people injured in a blast near a mosque in the Mastung district of Pakistan's Balochistan on Friday, Dawn reported. 

District Health Officer (DHO) Abdul Rasheed Shahi has confirmed the casualties. City Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammad Javed Lehri said a police official was among the casualties, according to a report by the Pakistan-based daily. 

Dr Saeed Mirwani, chief executive of Shaheed Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital, said dozens of people were undergoing treatment at his hospital while more than 20 injured have been referred to Quetta for medical assistance, Dawn reported. 

According to Mastung Assistant Commissioner (AC) Atta-ul-Munim, the explosion took place when people were gathering for an Eid-i-Miladun Nabi procession near Madina Masjid at Alfalah Road. The Mastung AC had identified the DSP who had been killed as Nawaz Gishkori. SHO Lehri said that the explosion was a "suicide blast."

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan denied it had carried out the attack. Balochistan interim Information Minister Jan Achakzai said rescue teams had been sent to Mastung. He further said that the critically injured people were being taken to Quetta and that an emergency had been imposed in all the hospitals.

Pakistan's Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti condemned the blast and expressed his grief at the loss of lives.  He said that all resources were being put to use during the rescue operation, Dawn reported. 

Balochistan's Interim Chief Minister Ali Mardan Domki condemned the incident and ordered an inquiry into the blast.

He ordered authorities to submit a report regarding the blast at the earliest, Dawn reported. 

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “deeply saddened by the cowardly attack on innocent people." He asserted that such heinous acts had “no place in our country”. He further said, “May justice be swift for those responsible." (ANI)