At least 14 people were killed and over two dozen others injured in a blast targeting Hazara community in Pakistan’s Quetta city on Friday morning, Pakistani media reported.
Dawn News Agencies quoted Pakistan’s Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdul Razzaq Cheema as saying that the blast was targeting members of the Hazara community.
Initial reports indicated that eight people were killed in the blast.
The Hazarganji area has been targeted by such attacks in the past. Hazara shopkeepers are known to purchase vegetables and fruits at the bazaar and sell them at their own shops. They are provided security escorts to and from Hazarganji, Dawn’s report indicates.
The report says that police fear the death toll may rise. The wounded are being shifted to Bolan Medical Complex for medical treatment, police sources said as quoted by Dawn.
According to the report, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the blast and sought an inquiry report of the attack.
A report released by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) last year stated that 509 members of Hazara community were killed and 627 injured in various incidents of terrorism in Quetta from January 2012 to Dec 2017.