–At least 20 others injured in explosion that occurred in Ghousabad locality during evening prayers
–Army chief Gen Bajwa says ‘those who targeted innocents in mosque can never be true Muslims’
QUETTA: At least 15 people, including a senior police officer and the mosque’s imam, were martyred while 20 others were injured in a blast inside a mosque during evening prayers here on Friday.
According to Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdul Razzaq Cheema and hospital sources, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amanullah and the mosque’s imam were among the deceased in the explosion in Ghousabad neighbourhood of Quetta’s Satellite Town.
DSP Amanullah’s son had been martyred in a firing incident a month ago. Amanullah was deployed at the Police Training College located on Saryab Road.
Soon after the incident, rescue services arrived at the scene and shifted the injured to the hospital for medical assistance.
Meanwhile, the police cordoned off the area and started an investigation into the incident to determine the nature of the blast. According to sources, police suspected that the explosion was carried out with an improvised explosive device (IED).
The director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, tweeted that Frontier Corps personnel had reached the blast site and were carrying out a search operation along with police.
“Every possible assistance be given to police and civil administration,” the tweet quoted Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as saying, adding that “Those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan, while condemning the incident, said that those who targeted worshippers have no religion or tribal affiliation. “They are only terrorists and deserve the harshest punishment,” he said, adding that state enemies are once again trying to create a law and order situation in Balochistan.
The chief minister said, however, that they would not let anyone destroy the hard-earned peace that had been achieved through the sacrifices of the armed forces and citizens.
Balochistan Home Minister Zia Langove also condemned the blast, saying that “terrorists were scared of Pakistan’s development”.
“Internal and external enemies are making failed efforts to create panic and unrest in the country,” he said in a statement.
Langove vowed that “defeated terrorists will never be allowed to succeed”. He expressed solidarity with the victims and said that no negligence will be tolerated in the medical treatment of the injured.
The incident comes three days after a motorcycle parked close to a Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle blew up in Quetta, leaving two people dead and another 14 injured. That blast had come after a respite of some weeks in what has traditionally been a violence-prone area.
