DHAKA: At least 30 people were killed and over 30 others injured in an explosion inside a Civil Hospital in Quetta of Pakistan on Monday (August 8).

Quoting Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, the dawn.com reports the matter.

The blast followed the killing of former president of Balochistan Bar Association Bilal Anwar Kasi, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Quetta earlier on the day.

The explosion took place soon after lawyers arrived at the Civil Hospital when the body of their colleague Advocate Bilal Kasi was brought in.

Several lawyers were reported injured in the explosion. Journalists present at the premises also came in the line of fire.

Police surrounded the hospital and cordoned off the area after the blast.

An emergency has been declared in hospitals across Quetta and several injured are being shifted to these for treatment.

Bugti said: “This was a security lapse and I am having this personally investigated”.

He said the hospital had not received any threats in the past.

Balochistan has been experiencing incident violence and targeted killings since more than a decade.

More than 1,400 incidents targeting the minority Shia and Hazara community have taken place in the province during the past 15 years.

The largest province of the country by area, is home to a low-level insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatists. Al Qaeda-linked and sectarian militants also operate in the region.

The province shares borders with Afghanistan and Iran.

BDST: 1145/1230 HRS, AUG 08, 2016
SR