KHUZDAR: A bomb attack on a Counter-Terror­ism Department (CTD) vehicle claimed the life of a police officer, on Sunday.

CTD officer Mohammad Murad Jamote, who was serving as the station house officer in Khuzdar, was targeted with what was described as a “magnetic bomb” while he was returning home. The blast, which occurred on Agha Sultan Ibrahim Road, destroyed the CTD vehicle and injured a passerby identified as Abu Bakar.

Security forces swiftly responded by cordoning off the area and launching a search operation.

This was the second such attack on a CTD officer in Khuzdar, with no immediate claim of responsibility, as last year senior officer Sharbat Khan Umrani, also serving as Khuzdar SHO had embraced martyrdom in a similar explosion while he was travelling in his car.

Also in March this year, yet another explosion resu­lted in the death of a businessman, and the son of Dawn’s Khuzdar correspondent.

Caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, Interior minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti and Baloch­istan caretaker chief minister Mir Ali Mardan Domki condemned the attack, emphasising the need for a thorough investigation and swift action against those responsible.

The prime minister expressed his condolence with the bereaved family and prayed for the high ranks of the departed soul, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

He also directed for provision of all possible medical treatment to those injured in the incident. The caretaker prime minister said that such cowardly activities could not deter the high morale of the security forces.

“The attack on the security forces deployed for the protection of people is highly condemnable,” CM Domki said.

The home minister also expressed condemnation.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2023