At least seven killed, 35 others injured in result of a blast near passenger bus on Nushki-Dalbandin highway
NUSHKI, March 16 (SABAH): At least seven people were killed and 35 injured in a blast near a passenger bus on Nushki-Dalbandin highway as violence-hit Balochistan records another tragic incident on Sunday.
However, authorities have not yet confirmed the nature of the blast or its cause. Noting that the injured were immediately shifted to Nushki Hospital soon after the explosion, the police have said that several of the wounded were in critical condition.
According to the hospital administration, an emergency has been declared at Mir Gul Khan Naseer Teaching Hospital to handle the situation. Security forces have cordoned off the area, and investigations are underway.
Furthermore, as per the police, the injured were being shifted to Quetta via helicopter.
According to Noshki Station House Officer (SHO) Zafarullah Sumalani, initial investigations suggest the incident was a suicide attack.
SHO Sumalani said that evidence from the site of the attack suggested that a suicide attacker rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the FC convoy.
SHO Sumalani feared that the death toll and number of injured would rise since several of the injured in critical condition.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families.
In a statement, the premier prayed for the departed souls and the quick return to health of the wounded. He directed that the injured be provided with the best possible treatment. “Such cowardly acts cannot shake our resolve against terrorism,” PM Shehbaz Sharif affirmed.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the “blast near a bus on the Noshki-Dalbandin Highway” and expressed his grief over the loss of five lives.
In a statement posted by his ministry on X, Mohsin Naqvi expressed his sympathies to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
“Targeting innocent people is the height of brutality,” the interior minister said, adding that anti-state elements were “plotting a heinous conspiracy to create instability” in the country.
Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Ahmed Khan Bugti condemned the attack and expressed sorrow over the loss of life.
“Those who play with the peace of Balochistan will be brought to a tragic end,” Bugti said in an official press release.
“Cowardly attacks cannot lower our morale,” he said. “There is no place for terrorists in Balochistan, peace will be established at all costs.”
CM Bugti said that all possible steps will be taken to bring the enemies of peace to justice.
“This war will continue till every last terrorist is eliminated,” the chief minister said, adding that everyone in Balochistan is indebted to those who shed their blood for this homeland.
The Balochistan government condemned the attack, Spokesperson Shahid Rind said in a statement.
“Targeting innocent civilians is a brutal act,” the statement said. Rind prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.
“Enemy elements are trying to destabilise the country,” the statement said. “The people’s morale cannot be lowered through terrorism.”
“We stand with the affected families in their hour of grief,” Rind said.