More than 30 injured in explosion near girls’ high school.  PM Shehbaz condemns terrorist attack, directs authorities to apprehend perpetrators.  Killings of schoolchildren unacceptable: CM Bugti.

QUETTA  -  At least nine people including five schoolchildren and a policeman, were martyred and more than 30 others sustained injuries in a bomb blast near Girls High School at Civil Hospital Chowk in Mastung district of Balochistan on Friday morning.

According to police sources, five schoolchildren, a policeman were among the dead. The injured were rushed to Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital and Mastung District Headquarters Hospital. At least 11 critically injured persons later were shifted to the Quetta Trauma Centre. Police officials said that the blast occurred near a police van at a Chowk near the Civil Hospital and a girls’ school which targeted a police vehicle near Civil Hospital Chowk. Police and Rescue teams reached the site soon after the blast and shifted the injured and the dead to the DHQ Hospital. Hospital sources said that a policeman and five children died on the spot while three injured succumbed to their wounds during treatment.

A police mobile van was totally damaged in the blast while several other vehicles and rickshaws were also damaged. Meanwhile, Acting President Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday strongly condemned a bomb blast at a girls’ high school in Balochistan’s Mastung district.

In their separately issued messages, they expressed grief over the death of children and a policeman and conveyed their condolence to the bereaved families, also praying for strength for them to bear the loss.

Both the acting president and prime minister reiterated the resolve for continuous action against terrorism till its elimination.

“The terrorists are the enemies of humanity. The whole nation stands united to support the security forces and law enforcement agencies against terrorists,” Gilani said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz instructed the authorities concerned to apprehend the perpetrators of the blast and take them to task, besides directing the best possible medical treatment of the injured.

“The attack on a school is the manifestation of terrorists’ animosity to education in Balochistan. Such cowardly acts can neither undermine the nation’s morale nor that of Balochistan’s government to promote education and development. The whole nation feels proud of its policemen and soldiers for their sacrifices to safeguard the country,” the prime minister remarked.

‘Fight against terrorism will continue’

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Friday said that terrorists once again targeted innocent children and fight against terrorism would continue as this act of cowardice could not weaken our resolve.

Sarfraz Bugti said that all-out efforts would be made to root out the menace of terrorism from the country and would not let the educational institutions to be evacuated in fear of such cowardly terror acts.

The Balochistan government is providing higher education to the youth in the world’s top universities; CM Bugti expressed these views while addressing the laptop distribution ceremony at Post Graduate Degree College for Girls, Quetta on Friday.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister of Balochistan also announced the establishment of a hi-tech lab in the college, besides provision of 50 pink Scotties and laptops to the students of Government Girls Post Graduate Degree College Quetta on merit basis.

Sarfaraz Bugti said that the government has taking measures to provide multiple opportunities of education and development to the girls of Balochistan creating a sense of self-confidence among them.

He recalled that construction of the faculty block attributed to Professor Nazima Talib would be started soon and it would be completed within a year.

He said that the government has announced some 40 days ago to provide laptops to the students and today the promise is being fulfilled

The Chief Minister said that the government has taking efforts to make the youth as educated and dignified members of the society but on the other hand, terrorists are misleading the youth and injecting loathe against the state and converting them into a suicide bomber.

Addressing the youth, he said youth of Balochistan should decide what kind of future they want?

He added the nation will defeat terrorists through education and awareness.

In response to the Mustang incident, he urged that every student should send a clear message to the miscreants that the youth of Balochistan rejected terrorism and condemned all such terrorist activities.

The Chief Minister said that the terrorists sitting abroad were misleading the youth towards violence and criminal activities for their nefarious designs.

He said that various tactics were used to mislead the youth through social media and a baseless propaganda was launched on social media about the alleged rape of a female student during the SCO summit which actually did not exist, it was only a conspiracy to defame the country.

Mir Sarfraz Bugti said that Benazir Bhutto Scholarship program has been started for the first time under the educational development in Balochistan.

In the program, scholarships would be providing to the students from secondary school to PhD level.

Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that corruption is the main issue of the province and concrete efforts needed to curb corruption and deliver the benefits of development to the common people of Balochistan.

He said that sustainable solutions of the problems are possible only by restoring public trust in government institutions through good governance.

Highlighting contribution of female officers in the province, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that currently five female Deputy Commissioners and one Assistant Commissioner are performing administrative affairs in Balochistan with their competency and skills, given practical proof of being good administrators.