56 Killed As 2 Suicide Blasts Strike Pakistan In Hours

Karachi: 

A powerful suicide blast ripped through a mosque in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Friday, killing at least 52 people and injuring over 50 others who were preparing to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, police said.

Hours later, another blast at a mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu city killed at least four people and injured 12 others.

At Mastung, the explosion occurred near Madina Mosque on Al Falah Road in the Mastung district when people had gathered in large numbers to mark Eid Miladun Nabi, City Station House Officer Mohammad Javed Lehri said.

The explosion was a ‘suicide blast’. The bomber exploded himself next to the Deputy Superintendent of Police’s (DSP) car,” Lehri said.

Bordering Afghanistan and Iran, Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province and has frequently been hit by terror groups including the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban, and the Islamic State group.

Mastung’s DSP Nawaz Gishkori, who was on duty for the rally, was found dead among others.

Lehri said the wounded were shifted to a medical facility even as an emergency has been imposed in the hospitals.District Health Officer Rashid Muhammad Saeed said the situation at the hospitals across the town was chaotic as relatives and friends of those killed and injured were making it difficult for the doctors and nurses to perform their duties.