BOLAN (Agencies): Nine individuals, including eight policemen and one civilian, were martyred in a suicide attack on a Balochistan Constabulary van in the Dhadar tehsil of the Kacchi district in Bolan 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. Three wounded persons, he went on to say, were in critical condition. “We fear the death toll will increase to double digits.”
The minister said no organisation had so far claimed responsibility for the attack. He stated that the injured people had been immediately flown to Quetta via a helicopter and the federal government was closely coordinating with the Balochistan government with regard to the martyred, their compensation and the medical treatment of the wounded.
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. Sanaullah assured that all the promises made in the apex committee, which was attended by all the provincial and federal governments, were being fulfilled on a priority basis. “With the resolute resolve of the nation, we will soon control this new wave of terrorism,” the minister promised.
Earlier, Kachhi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mahmood Notezai told media that an emergency had been imposed at hospitals across Quetta. He also said that bomb disposal squads and security personnel had arrived at the blast site and cordoned it off to collect evidence.
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. Bizenjo conveyed his sympathies to the families of the martyred, asserting that they were national heroes. “The sacrifices of the martyred will not go to waste,” he promised.
President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday expressed their resolve to free the country from the menace of terrorism. In their separate statements, both strongly condemned the suicide attack on the personnel of the Balochistan Constabulary in Sibbi that led to their martyrdom.
President Alvi said terrorists would not be successful in carrying out their nefarious agenda. PM Sharif said terrorism in Balochistan was part of the nefarious designs to create instability in the country. The president and the prime minister paid tribute to the valour of the country’s martyred troops. They prayed to Allah Almighty to grant elevated ranks to the souls of martyrs in heaven and to grant of patience to their families.
Former President of Pakistan and President Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the terrorists’ attack in Bolan, Balochistan. He expressed his deep sorrow and grief over the martyrdom of law enforcement personnel in the attack.
President Zardari said that terrorism is an unpardonable crime and the terrorists must not and cannot escape punishment. Asif Ali Zardari condoled with the families of the martyrs and prayed to Almighty Allah for the early recovery of the injured.
In a separate message, Chair Pakistan Peoples Party and Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the terrorists’ attack on security personnel in Bolan area of Balochistan and expressed profound sorrow and grief over the martyrdom of nine security personnel in the attack. Chairman Bilawal said that the planners and facilitators of this attack will be brought to book. He also prayed to Almighty Allah for early recovery of the injured.
8 cops, civilian martyred in Bolan suicide attack
