The Quetta Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has registered a terrorism case following the deadly Mastung blast on Friday, which resulted in the deaths of eight individuals, including five children, and injured over 30 others.
Officials reported that the attack was carried out using an improvised explosive device (IED) concealed in a motorcycle, detonated at School-Hospital Chowk in the Majeed Road area. The explosion occurred near a girls’ school during the arrival of students in vans and rickshaws, coinciding with a police vehicle passing through the vicinity.
According to officials, the remote-controlled blast was aimed at a police vehicle en route to the Mastung district hospital to escort polio vaccinators as part of a nationwide immunization campaign running from October 28 to November 3.
Among the deceased were five schoolchildren, a policeman, and two civilians. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
The first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available to Dawn.com, was filed around 3:15 PM on Friday by Mastung City Station House Officer (SHO) Abdul Fateh. The FIR states that unidentified terrorists specifically targeted “innocent children and the public” through the explosion.
According to the FIR, Bomb Disposal team leader Rafiq Shah determined that the IED contained “seven to eight kilograms of explosive material and ball bearings.” A loud blast was reported by a police team, including Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Ali Ahmed, who were on patrol duty at the time. They were also informed of a blast occurring at the Manzoor Shaheed Library on Masjid Road.
The police noted a significant number of children near the blast site, and the FIR indicates that workers in a police van transporting a team to the DHO hospital for polio duty were killed and injured in the explosion.
The FIR detailed damage caused by the explosion, including destruction to rickshaws, a wall of the Manzoor Shaheed Library, and the glass windows of the girls’ high school. It also listed the eight fatalities and the 30 injured individuals.
The case cited sections 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) and 21(i) (aid and abetment) of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, along with sections 3 (punishment for causing explosion likely to endanger life or property) and 4 (punishment for attempt to cause explosion or for making or keeping explosives with intent to endanger life or property) of the Explosive Substances Act of 1908.
Additionally, it invoked various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including 302 (punishment for intentional murder), 324 (attempted murder), 427 (mischief causing damage), 353 (assault on public servant), 186 (obstructing public servant), and 120B (concealing design to commit an offense).
The attack has drawn widespread condemnation, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stating, “The attack on a school is a reflection of terrorists’ hostility towards education in Balochistan.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti also condemned the blast as “inhumane,” highlighting that terrorists have now targeted innocent children and vulnerable laborers, referencing a recent attack that resulted in the deaths of five security guards in Panjgur.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) condemned the attack as well, stressing the urgent need to ensure the safety and protection of all children.
