Authorities suspect a suicide assault caused at least 52 deaths and numerous injuries at a religious parade in southwest Pakistan on Friday.
According to the province’s communications minister Jan Achakzai, the explosion happened while people were celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed in the Mastung area of the volatile Balochistan province.
Separatists have been fighting for independence from Pakistan for decades in Balochistan, the country’s largest province by size. They blame the government for the exploitation and monopolisation of the area’s mineral wealth.
Atta Ul Munim, the assistant commissioner in charge of Mastung, told CNN that the explosion was a suicide attack. Dr. Abdul Rasheed, the district health officer, later reported that the explosion had injured 50 persons.
The explosion’s cause has not yet been assigned to any one group.
He stated that the attack was intended to kill a senior police officer, who died in the explosion.
According to him, the seriously injured have been taken to hospitals in Quetta, the provincial capital, while others are receiving care at a nearby facility in Mastung.
The victims’ bodies have also been sent to a hospital, according to Achakzai, although he expects the death toll to grow.
Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, the interim prime minister of Pakistan, issued a statement strongly denouncing the explosion.
According to a statement from his office, “The Prime Minister expressed his condolences to the families of those who died in the blast.” “The Prime Minister’s prayers for mercy towards the families and forgiveness for the deceased.”
According to a statement from the inspector general, police in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan and located some 600 kilometres (370 miles) from Mastung, have been told to strengthen security and remain on “high alert” in the wake of the incident.
In recent months, there have been a number of attacks in Balochistan.
According to authorities, two militants were killed and the Chinese workers were uninjured when Pakistan’s military repelled an attempt on Chinese engineers in Balochistan last month.
At least nine police officers were killed and 11 others were hurt in an alleged shooting in March of this year.