Islamabad, Sept. 3: At least 73 people were killed and over 100 injured in a suicide attack on a Shia procession at Quetta in southwest Pakistan, the police said on Friday.
“The current toll is 73. There can be more casualties as some injured are in serious condition,” a police official at the site told this newspaper. He said the suicide attacker hit the rally as the demonstrators were marking Al-Quds Day to show solidarity with the Palestinian people on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramzan.
Inspector general of Balochistan, Mr Malik Mohammed Iqbal, confirmed that the blast was a suicide attack. He also said that the police had earlier tried to stop the rally from going towards Meezan Chowk citing security concerns but the participants refused to follow the instructions.
Meanwhile, in Mardan, at least one man was killed and four others wounded on Friday when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside minority Ahmadi’s worship place.
Also, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for triple bombings at a religious procession on Wednesday in Lahore in which 37 people were killed.