Three policemen were martyred and at least 16 others were injured as a blast targeted a vehicle of the Balochistan Constabulary on Mastung district’s Dasht Road, officials said.
Militants in Balochistan, previously engaged in a low-level insurgency, have recently intensified their attacks. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) emerged as a key perpetrator of terrorist violence in Pakistan in 2024.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind, in a statement, said that a vehicle carrying policemen returning from Kalat was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED).“Three jawaan (personnel) of the Balochistan Constabulary were martyred in the blast,” Rind stated.
He added that 16 others were injured due to the explosion, out of whom two were in a serious condition.The Balochistan Constabulary is part of the provincial police, according to the latter’s website. No group has claimed the attack so far.
However, Mastung Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Younas Magsi put the number of those injured at 18.All wounded cops have been shifted to a hospital while those seriously injured were being taken to Quetta, about 50 kilometres away from Mastung, according to Rind.
He added that an investigation report on the incident has been sought.The Balochistan Constabulary officials were deployed at a sit-in by the Balochistan National Party—Mengal (BNP-M), the spokesperson said.
The BNP-M’s sit-in at Mastung against the arrests of Baloch activists entered its 19th day today. Just on the second day of their protest, BNP-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and others had remained unhurt after a suicide blast near their rally.
According to DSP Magsi, the policemen were stationed as additional deployment with Levies in Mastung’s Kund Mas area. He added that more than 40 cops were returning from duty today when the police vehicle carrying them was targeted
“On a daily basis, our policemen used to return to Mastung Police Lines after performing their duties,” Magsi said.Local administration official Raja Muhammad Akram also told AFP that the bus was carrying around 40 police officers when it was hit by the blast. He added that 3 policemen were martyred while 16 others were wounded in the “roadside IED blast”.
An emergency was imposed at the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital and Civil Hospital in Quetta following the incident.
