Pakistan Hospital Blast Leaves Dozens Dead And Several Injured In Quetta

UPDATE: 5:54 a.m. EDT — The blast at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, Monday has left at least 75 dead, Balochistan’s health secretary Mohammed Omar Baloch said, Al Jazeera reported.

Pakistan’s Bar Council announced a nationwide strike Tuesday and a week of mourning following the attack in Quetta, which also left several lawyers dead.

“The lawyers, while observing the strike and mourning, will hold protest meetings in their bar rooms and wear black bands to condemn the tragic incident,” the council reportedly said.

A spokesperson for the Balochistan government reportedly said that the attack seemed to have been pre-planned while the province's chief minister blamed India's intelligence agency for the attack. However, investigations into the cause of the explosion are still ongoing and no group has claimed responsibility, according to reports.

UPDATE: 4:31 a.m. EDT — The death toll in the blast at a hospital in the western Pakistan city of Quetta in Balochistan province has climbed to 53, according to reports citing a hospital doctor. Over 50 people were also injured in the attack Monday.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reportedly condemned the blast saying, “No one will be allowed to disturb the peace in the province that has been restored thanks to the countless sacrifices by the security forces, police and the people of Balochistan.”

Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri announced a three-day mourning across the province after the attack, the Express Tribune said.

UPDATE: 3:10 a.m. EDT — At least 42 people were killed in Monday’s attack in a hospital in Pakistan's Quetta city. Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri reportedly said that India’s intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), was behind the attack.

Facebook has activated its safety check feature in Quetta following the blast.

Original story:

At least 30 people were killed and more than 30 people injured in a bomb blast inside a hospital in Pakistan’s Quetta city in Balochistan province on Monday.

The blast took place as soon as a group of lawyers arrived at Quetta’s Civil Hospital in support of their colleague who was shot earlier in the day.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti told Pakistan newspaper DawnNews that investigators suspect that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

At least 50 people had entered the hospital’s emergency department accompanying the body of slain lawyer and president of Balochistan Bar Association, Bilal Anwar Kasi.

Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Harifal said, “The blast occurred after a number of lawyers and some journalists had gathered at the hospital following the death of the president of the Balochistan Bar Association in a separate shooting incident early this morning.”

Police reportedly said that after the blast, unidentified men opened fire. Pakistan’s Frontier Corps and the police have arrived at the scene and the area has been cordoned off. An emergency was declared in all hospitals across the city.

Journalists were also injured in the blast. A cameraman for DawnNews was severely injured and another cameraman Shahzad Khan who was with Aaj TV was killed.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.