At least 52 killed in Pakistan shrine blast

At least 52 people were killed and 102 were injured on Saturday evening in a bombing at the shrine of Shah Norani in Khuzdar district of Balochistan in Pakistan, DawnNews reported.

‘52 people have died and dozens injured in the incident,’ confirmed Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti.

Bugti also hinted towards foreign involvement in the attack. It was not confirmed whether the bombing was a suicide attack or a remote detonation.

The explosion took place at the spot where the dhamaal (Sufi ritual) was being performed, within the premises of the shrine.

‘Every day, around sunset, there is a dhamaal here, and there are large numbers of people who come for this,’ said Nawaz Ali, the shrine’s custodian.

At the time of the blast, there were at least 500 people gathered at the spot to view the performance, said Abdul Hakim Lasi, a senior Edhi official in Khuzdar district. The militant Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack, reported Reuters.

Security forces reached the spot of the incident and established a cordon around it. Emergency services faced difficulty in reaching the site of the bombing due to its remote location and poor communication infrastructure.

The shrine is also located in hilly terrain, which further added to the difficulties faced by emergency services.
Electricity services were disrupted following the explosion, hampering rescue efforts further. Electric power to the shrine was supplied with generators, DawnNews reported.

A control room was also established in Quetta to coordinate rescue efforts.