At least nine security personnel were martyred and 13 injured in an explosion near a truck of the Balochistan Constabulary in the Bolan district of Balochistan on Monday. According to Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, the blast occurred at 10am on the Kambri bridge in the area bordering the Sibi and Kachhi districts. He said the police van was returning to Quetta from Dhadar, where the Balochistan Constabulary personnel – a department of the provincial police force that provides security at important events and in sensitive areas, including jails – was posted for duty at a Sibi cultural festival.
“The van collided with a motorcycle which was being driven by a suicide bomber. As a result, nine people were martyred, of which one was a civilian,” Sanaullah said, adding that 13 people were injured in the attack. The bodies and injured personnel were shifted to Sibi where they were provided medical aid. The condition of some of the injured is reportedly critical which may increase the death toll. Emergency was imposed in the hospitals of Quetta and Sibi.
Sanaullah asserted that law enforcement agencies, including the police and counter-terrorism departments, were working in synergy to eliminate terrorism from the country. “I also want to bring this on record that despite the prevailing economic situation […] and that austerity measures are being employed everywhere […] no cut has been made in the resources being provided to law enforcement agencies to maintain peace,” he said. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo condemned the attack and expressed grief at the number of casualties.
He said terrorist elements wanted to accomplish their wicked aims through cowardly actions, adding that they were conspiring to keep Balochistan under-developed by creating unrest and instability in the province. “All such conspiracies will be made unsuccessful with the public’s support,” the chief minister vowed in a statement. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the incident as well and paid tribute to the valour of the martyred policemen, APP quoted the premier’s press release as saying. He said terrorism in Balochistan was part of a nefarious design to create instability in the country and promised to free the country from the menace of terrorism.
