Four injured in grenade blast in Pakistan’s Quetta

Quetta [Pakistan], December 25 (ANI): At least four people were injured on Sunday in a grenade blast on the Sabzal Road in Pakistan’s Quetta, according to a statement by Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, reported The Dawn.

Bizenjo condemned the incident and told the provincial police chief to make the security arrangements in the city more effective. Dr Waseem Baig, Balochistan Health Department media coordinator confirmed Bizenjo’s statement. He said four people sustained injuries in the incident and the condition of one of the accused was critical.

Bizenjo in a statement directed the police to continue intelligence-based operations against terrorists and “leave no stone unturned in taking the enemies of peace to task”, reported The Dawn.

The injured will be provided the best medical facilities, he said.

The incident was also condemned by Balochistan’s Minister for Home Affairs Mir Ziaullah Langove. He asked for a report from the concerned authorities.
“The security of entry and exit routes should be tightened,” he ordered, according to The Dawn.

In a similar incident on Friday, a powerful car bomb detonated in a residential area in Pakistan’s capital, killing two suspected militants and an officer, police said, raising fears that militants have a presence in one of the country’s safest cities, reported Irish Examiner.

At least three police officers and seven passersby were wounded in the bombing.
Friday’s bombing in Pakistan’s capital city took place nine miles from the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home of the military and government spy agencies.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the explosion, reported Irish Examiner.

The Islamabad Police declared a ‘red alert’ in the city shortly after the blast, the Dawn reported.

“Security has been re-alert in Islamabad. Carrying weapons is not allowed under any circumstance. Election-related meetings will not take place without the permission of the police. Election activities and corner meetings will be allowed inside the four walls,” Islamabad Police tweeted.

Recently, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police department after analysing the overall law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, declared South and North Waziristan, Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts as terrorist trouble spots, reported The Dawn.

Mohammad Ali Babakhel, additional inspector general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police (operations) on Friday, told reporters: “Southern districts, including North and South Waziristan [from among the newly-merged tribal districts] as well as Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts [from settled areas], are trouble spots.”