At least four people were injured on Monday while a Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle was damaged in a blast in Hazar Ganji, a locality on the outskirts of Quetta, officials said.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Balochistan Counter-Terrorism Department said that at 07:40am an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion took place outside the main gate of the vegetable market.

"As a result, four passersby were injured while a Frontier Corps vehicle was slightly damaged. It was a timed device which had around one kilogramme of explosives. CTD teams are on the spot and gathering evidence," the spokesman said.

The blast caused the windows of nearby buildings to shatter. The site of the incident was cordoned off by security forces and further investigations are under way.

The victims were shifted to Bolan Medical Complex Hospital by rescue workers. According to the hospital administration, two of the victims were in critical condition.

Condemning the incident, Balochistan government spokesman Liaquat Shahwani said that an emergency had been declared at hospitals in order to provide the injured with the best possible medical treatment.

"Those responsible will be arrested and brought to justice," he said.

On July 1, at least six security personnel were injured, two of them seriously, in a motorcycle bomb explosion that targeted an army convoy on Quetta's Airport Road.

Inspector General of Balochistan Mohammad Tahir Rai had said that an IED had been planted on the motorcycle, which was detonated by a remote control.