The incident came a week after an explosion near a girls’ school and hospital in Mastung district in the same territory killed eight persons, including five children, according to the Dawn newspaper.

Quetta Divisional Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat confirmed the death toll, adding that the blast was a suicide attack mainly targeting law enforcers, although there were also civilian casualties.

Following the unfortunate incident, the authorities issued a ban on gatherings in the area, a high alert at bus stations, and the closure of the railways with the suspension of train services, according to Shafqaat.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman strongly condemned the attack, calling it a tragic incident, and expressed deep sorrow for the victims and injured.

He urged members of the political organization to help the injured and to cooperate with the medical teams at the hospital.

Based on a list of the injured taken to from Quetta Trauma Centre and Emergency Department, released by Director General Arbab Kamran Kasi, 53 persons between the ages of 20 and 50 were injured, six of them in serious condition, while three were sent to an intensive care unit.

According to the Dawn newspaper, the country’s banned militant group, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), claimed responsibility for the blast.

Pakistan Railways restored rail services between Quetta and Peshawar on 11 October after a suspension of more than a month following a 26 August bomb attack that caused the collapse of a key bridge between Kolpur and Mach.

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