QUETTA/DERA MURAD JAMALI: A senior police officer was martyred in Sohbatpur, Nasirabad, while two people were killed and six others injured in twin blasts in Zardalo, Harnai district, on Thursday.

Levies officials said that unknown people planted an explosive device along the roadside in the Zardalo coal mine area of Harnai. The device detonated, resulting in the tragic loss of two lives.

They said that when local residents gathered at the site of the explosion, another blast occurred at the same location, injuring six people. The injured people were rushed to the trauma centre at Civil Hospital Quetta, while two of them were taken to a local hospital.

A spokesperson for the hospital stated, “We received four injured individuals at the Civil Hospital, and the condition of two of them is serious.”

The bodies of the two deceased individuals have been handed over to their families.

Policeman martyred in Sohbatpur

Deputy Inspector General of Police Nasirabad Region Munir Ahmed Sheikh said that the Station House Officer (SHO) of Adilpur police station, Mir Muhammad Khosa, initiated an operation in the border area of Sohbatpur and Dera Bugti districts based on information regarding the presence of wanted criminals.

Upon the police’s arrival at the site, the armed criminals opened fire, prompting the police to retaliate. A fierce gun battle ensued, lasting for two hours, during which the SHO, Mir Muhammad Khosa, sustained bullet injuries. He was immediately taken to the district hospital, where he tragically succumbed to his injuries.

“The operation will continue until late evening in order to apprehend the armed criminals involved in murder, dacoities, highway robberies, and other serious crimes,” DIG Munir Sheikh told Dawn.

After a funeral prayer attended by former minister Saleem Ahmed Khosa, senior police officers, and other individuals, the martyred police officer was laid to rest in a local graveyard.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2023