QUETTA, Sept 30 (Portal) – The death toll from a major explosion at a mosque in Pakistan rose to 59 on Saturday as the government vowed to find the perpetrators and accused Indian intelligence of being involved.
Friday’s explosion rocked a mosque in Mastung in the southern province of Balochistan after a bomber detonated its explosives near a police vehicle where people were gathering for a procession to mark the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday.
Pakistani officials have long alleged that India supports violent groups in Pakistan – claims that India has always denied.
“Civil, military and all other institutions will jointly act against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide attack,” Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti told the media in Balochistan’s capital Quetta.
“RAW is involved in the suicide attack,” he added, referring to the Indian intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). He did not provide any details or evidence about the alleged involvement.
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a damaged mosque after a suicide attack in Hangu, Pakistan, September 29, 2023. Portal/Stringer acquires license rights
India’s foreign ministry and a government spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Wasim Baig, spokesman for Balochistan’s health ministry, said seven more people had died in hospital since Friday, leading to a rise in the death toll, adding that more patients remained in critical condition.
At least five people were killed in a second attack on Friday at a mosque in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Police filed a report to initiate an investigation on Saturday and said they had sent DNA from the suicide bomber for analysis.
No group has claimed responsibility for either attack. A surge in militant attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces has cast a shadow over election preparations and public campaigning ahead of the nationwide vote in January, but so far the attacks have mainly targeted security forces.
The Pakistan Taliban (TTP), responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan since its founding in 2007, denied responsibility for Friday’s attacks.
Reporting by Saleem Ahmed in Quetta; Additional reporting by Saud Mehsud; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Giles Elgood
Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.
Acquire license rights, opens new tab