At least four people were killed and five injured on Tuesday in an explosion at a political rally of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party in Balochistan, the latest terrorist strike in Pakistan’s restive province.
The blast occurred on Jinnah Road in Sibi city when an election rally of a National Assembly candidate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was passing through.
The medical superintendent of the District Headquarters Hospital in Sibi, Dr Babar, confirmed that four people were killed and five others were injured. The victims were shifted to the civil hospital.
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Officials said that police reached the spot of the attack and launched a search for the perpetrators.
In a statement, the PTI party said the bombing attacked an election rally of party-backed candidate Saddam Tareen, who is contesting the upcoming polls from the constituency. The party claimed that the victims were its workers.
“We strongly condemn this heartbreaking incident and demand that attention should be given to suppressing terrorists instead of PTI workers,” it said in a post on social media platform X.
Terming the incident a “criminal failure” of the provincial and federal governments, the party said, “A full investigation of the incident should be conducted, and the criminal negligence of the supervising governments should also be investigated to bring those responsible to justice.”
An emergency was imposed in all hospitals of Quetta and Sibi following the incident, a statement from the provincial health department said.
“Instructions have been issued to Sibi’s medical superintendent to provide the best healthcare facilities to patients. All doctors and staff are instructed to be present on duty immediately,” the statement said.
In a statement, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it had taken notice of the incident and summoned a report from Balochistan’s chief secretary and police chief.
Interim Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai said the election would be held as planned, regardless of terrorist attacks.
“The rally in Sibi, which was targeted by terrorists, will not discourage the government of Balochistan from conducting the elections,” he said.
The blast came after at least five terrorists of a banned group were killed late last night when security forces thwarted at least three coordinated attacks with rockets and sophisticated weapons by militants on a high-security jail in the province.
According to the annual security report prepared by the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) think tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces are the main centres of violence in the country.
Pakistan is set to hold the national elections on February 8, and the government has decided to deploy the army to provide security for elections.