At least five people were killed and three others injured in an explosion at a border taxi stand in Balochistan’s Chaman city on Wednesday.
The area’s assistant commissioner said that the blast occurred when explosives hidden in passengers’ luggage went off at the busy stand.
The deceased and injured were immediately shifted to the District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital.
The Balochistan government has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The Home Department said that security forces cordoned off the area soon after the explosion, and investigators are examining the nature and motives behind the attack.
In a statement, it announced that strict action will be taken against the facilitators of terrorists.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the explosion near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman. The premier expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of six precious lives in the incident and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured.
He directed that the best possible medical facilities be provided to those wounded.
PM Shehbaz further instructed that those responsible for the attack be identified and brought to justice. He said that elements spreading unrest in Balochistan are enemies of the province’s development and prosperity, adding that their nefarious designs will never succeed.
In a separate incident today, two passersby sustained injuries following a hand grenade blast in Kalat’s Mangocher Bazaar.
Two days ago, five soldiers, including a captain, were martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Balochistan’s Kech district.
In a follow-up action, security forces killed five terrorists linked to the Indian proxy group Fitna al Hindustan.
In another incident, over a dozen people lost their lives in a suicide attack that targeted the Balochistan National Party’s (BNP) rally on Quetta’s Sariab Road earlier this month.
Pakistan witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks across the country, particularly in KP and Balochistan — both of which share a rather porous border with neighbouring Afghanistan.
According to security sources, masterminds and facilitators of terrorism are based in Afghanistan and are being supported by India.
The two nations share a porous border spanning around 2,500 kilometres with several crossing points, which hold significance as a key element of regional trade and relations between the people across both sides of the fence.
However, the issue of terrorism remains a key issue for Pakistan, which has urged Afghanistan to prevent its soil from being used by groups such as the TTP to carry out attacks inside the former’s territory.
Islamabad’s reservations have also been confirmed by a report submitted to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, which has revealed a nexus between Kabul and the TTP, with the former providing logistical, operational, and financial support to the latter. –Agencies
