akistani army soldiers and policemen gather at a bomb explosion site, which killed one person and injured ten, in Rawalpindi on June 12, 2020. Farooq NAEEM / AFP
At least one person was killed and a dozen others wounded in a rare bomb blast in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Friday, officials said.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s fourth-largest city, is known for its military garrison and adjoins the capital Islamabad.
The explosion took place Friday evening at a popular market, a stone’s throw from Pakistan’s heavily guarded military headquarters.
“One killed, while 12 others were injured in an explosion. The explosive was planted in an electric pole”, Rawalpindi police spokesman Sajjad ul Hassan told AFP.
Rawalpindi police chief Ahsan Younas confirmed the bomb explosion and toll.
An AFP photographer saw broken glass from shop windows at the cordoned-off site. Most shops were already shut at the time of the blast.
No group immediately claimed responsibility. Hassan said it was an attempt at “organised terrorism”.
Pakistan has seen a dramatic improvement in security in recent years.
This is the first bomb blast in Rawalpindi since 2015, the same year the army intensified a crackdown on militants.
Analysts however still warn that Pakistan has not yet addressed the root causes of extremism.
The announcement of the official provisional results seems to clear the way for a handover…
The security expert said the government needs to explain to Nigerians circumstances around the release…
While the TUC demanded N447,000 as the new monthly minimum wage per worker, the NLC…
General Musa vowed that the military will hunt down the perpetrators of the heinous act…
The President assured the families of the soldiers of maximum support and approved scholarship for…
The NNPCL reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the current sufficiency in petroleum products supply across…