At least 11 people have been killed in what police officials suspect to be a suicide bombing targeting a political rally in southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.
“The reports we have say that the bomb went off in a parking area as the people were leaving the rally,” government official Hamza Shafaat told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday, adding that another 30 people were injured.
Sajid Tareen, a senior leader of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), also confirmed that the explosion occurred in the car park after the rally was concluded and that several party members were wounded.
Hundreds of workers from the BNP-M from the Balochistan province gathered at Quetta’s Shahwani Stadium to observe the anniversary of the party founder Sardar Ataullah Mengal’s death.
Another attack in Balochistan, near the border with Iran, claimed five lives on Tuesday.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Quetta is the capital of restive Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. Baloch separatist fighters operate in the region and have claimed attacks in the past.
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