Pakistan minister blames India for Balochistan blast; death toll rises
Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti has blamed India's Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) intelligence agency for a suicide blast in Balochistan's Mastung district in Pakistan on Friday, Reuters reported. The Indian government has yet to respond to the allegations by the Pakistani minister. Meanwhile, reports said that the death toll from the Friday blast rose to 59, while 60 others have been injured.
Why does this story matter?
This was reportedly the second major blast in the Mastung district of Balochistan in September. On September 14, at least 11 people, including a religious leader belonging to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUIF), Hafiz Hamdullah, were injured in an explosion in the same district. The blast on Friday took place near the Madina Masjid when people were gathering to celebrate Prophet Muhammad's birth anniversary.
'RAW is involved in suicide attack': Pakistan's interior minister
Addressing the media in Quetta, Bugti said, "RAW is involved in the suicide attack." However, he did not provide any details or evidence of the claims. "Civil, military, and all other institutions will jointly strike against the elements involved in the...suicide bombing," he said. Notably, Pakistan has long maintained that India is sponsoring violent groups in Pakistan, which the latter has constantly denied.
No organization claimed responsibility for Friday blasts
Reportedly, a second explosion took place at a mosque in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday, killing five people. However, no organization has claimed responsibility for either attack. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), responsible for many such attacks in the past, also denied its involvement. Meanwhile, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said it filed an FIR with murder charges and terrorism offenses against an unidentified attacker.
Death toll may rise as more patients in critical condition
The death toll from the Mastung blast rose to 59 on Saturday and may rise further as many injured people are in critical condition. A spokesperson for Balochistan's Health Department, Wasim Baig, said seven more people have died in hospitals since Friday, adding that more patients remain in critical condition, per Reuters. Balochistan's caretaker government has announced three days of mourning following the attack.
Pakistan sees surge in terror attacks: Report
Pakistan has reportedly witnessed a surge in terror attacks lately, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. This comes after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year. This year, three major attacks took place in the region, including a blast earlier this month. Prior to that, security forces and a polio vaccination team were attacked by unidentified armed men.
