2 dead, 8 injured in Khuzdar blast

Two people were killed while eight others were injured in a blast in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Tuesday night, with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari calling it a terrorist incident.

Khuzdar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Fahad Khosa told Dawn.com that the blast took place at Sultan Road near Do Talwar Chowk.

He said that the bomb was attached to the vehicle using magnets and then detonated through a remote device.

He said that as a result of the blast, 20-year-old Naveed Shahwani — the son of Dawn correspondent Wahid Shahwani — and a trader named Amanullah, both of whom were in the vehicle, had died while eight others were injured.

The SSP also said that initial reports suggested the perpetrators had targeted the trader.

FM Bilawal, in a statement, condemned the “terrorist attack”. He said that those targeting innocent civilians had nothing to do with the nation or religion and could not even be called humans.

He further said that the government and the nation were intent on eradicating terrorism.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo also condemned the blast, and expressed sorrow over the deaths and offered condolences to the families.

“Terrorists are targeting innocent citizens. The plot to destabilise the province by spreading terror and chaos will be foiled,” he said in a statement, adding that terrorism should be condemned by all.

“We will have to stand united against terrorists,” he said, directing the officials concerned to make the security in Khuzdar more effective.

Last month, two police officers lost their lives and another two were critically injured when a magnetic bomb attached to their vehicle exploded in Khuzdar. Police officials said the bomb exploded when the vehicle was on patrol near Jhalawan Complex.

The driver of the vehicle lost his life on the spot while three cops were injured, one of whom later died in the hospital.