QUETTA: A bomb blast killed at least eleven people at a public rally in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta late on Tuesday.
Government official Hamza Shafaat confirmed the rally was held to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Sardar Ataullah Mengal, a nationalist leader and former provincial chief minister.
His son Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who was in attendance, is safe according to Shafaat, who added that another thirty people were injured.
“The reports we have say that the bomb went off in a parking area as the people were leaving the rally,“ he said.
Police were investigating the blast, which appeared to be a suicide bombing, according to police official Athar Rasheed.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Quetta is the capital of restive Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
Both Islamist militants and Baloch separatist insurgents operate in the region. – Reuters