QUETTA: Two policemen were killed, and five people injured in an explosion outside the gate of Balochistan University on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

"Two policemen were killed and five people including three policemen were injured in the blast," Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti told DawnNews.

The minister said the explosion occurred outside the gate of Balochistan University, where security personnel were deployed, adding that the nature of the blast is not yet known.

Emergency services were dispatched to the area and the injured have been shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta. Law enforcement forces have cordoned off the area.

The bodies of the slain policemen were also transported to the hospital, where senior doctors were called in to treat the injured. An emergency was declared in the hospital.

Militants have conducted attacks against security forces and national installations in Balochistan, which has been plagued by an insurgency and growing sectarian killings for more than a decade.