Mastung: 52 confirmed dead, more than 50 injured in suicide bombing

MASTUNG: The number of dead, including Deputy Superintendant Police (DSP), crossed 50 while more than 50 were reported injured in a blast in Mastung, Balochistan earlier today.

According to Assistant Commissioner Mastung Atta Ul Munim , the blast occurred when large number of people were being gathered at Al-Falah Masjid on Madina Road for Eid Milad un Nabi procession. DSP Mastung, Nawaz Gashkori,is also amongst the martyred, according to the commissioner.

Care taker provincial information minister Jan Achakzai talking to media initially said the death toll is 13 and more than 30 have been injured while expressing fear that the death toll was likley to rise due to the magnitude of the blast.

His fears turned out to be true. ” The number of dead stands at around 52, while more than 50 are injured,” District Health Officer (DHO) Mastung told HUM News.

Meanwhile the provicial authorities said that the exact nature of the blast is yet to be ascertained as Balochistan government announced a three days mourning in the province.

State of emergency has been declared in the hospitals of the area and security forces have cordoned off the entire area according to local police.

Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, in a statement, condemned the blast and noted that the state had a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorists.

Interim Sindh Chief Minister Maqbool Baqar condemned the blast, according to a statement from his spokesperson.

The chief minister, the statement read, said that those involved in taking the lives of innocent people are the “enemies of humanity”.

Shehbaz Sharif, the former prime minister and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), expressed sorrow over the lost lives while condemning it.

“It is concerning to see a rise in such incidents in Mastung,” he said, asking the government to ensure that those injured received the best of the treatment.

Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the blast as he expressed sorrow over the loss of previous lives.

He extended his sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones in the explosion.

Mastung has remained a hotbed of terror attacks for the past several years with the recent attack on senior Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz HamdullahHafiz earlier this month, which was claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).

Read: JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah injured in Mastung blast

Another major attack was in July 2018, which was dubbed as one of the deadliest in the district’s history, during which at least 128 people were killed, including Mir Siraj Khan Raisan — a provincial assembly candidate from the then-newly-formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).

UPDATE 1

Inspector General Police (IGP) Balochistan says initial reports say the mastung attack was a case of suicide suicide bombing.