Twelve people were injured in a blast that targeted a police van near Eastern Bypass in Quetta, hospital and government officials said on Wednesday.

Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind confirmed in a statement that a police van was targeted while the Balochistan Health Department released a list of 12 individuals who were injured in the incident.

Rind condemned the attack and said a policeman was among the injured.

An investigation into the incident was launched and the bomb disposal squad teams were collecting evidence, the spokesperson added.

The health department’s statement, issued by its media coordinator Dr Waseem Baig, said the injured had been shifted to Quetta Trauma Centre for further treatment after they were provided with initial medical aid in Civil Hospital’s emergency department.

Previously, two policemen were martyred and another injured in a planted bomb blast targeting officials in the city’s Kuchlak town on September 14.

Rise in terror attacks

Pakistan experienced an increase in terrorist attacks in August as a total of 59 terrorist attacks occurred countrywide compared to 38 attacks in the previous month, according to a digital database maintained by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think-tank.

In the latest flare-up of violence, dozens of militants affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) — a separatist outfit — launched numerous attacks on midnight of August 25 across Balochistan, targeting security personnel as well as civilians.

At least 50 people, including 14 security men, lost their lives as militants went on a rampage across the province, storming police stations, blowing up railway tracks, and setting fire to almost three dozen vehicles. In response, security forces neutralised 21 militants.

Among those killed were 23 people in Musakhail, mostly labourers from Punjab, who were offloaded from trucks and vans and shot dead after an identity check.

Following the incident, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir vowed that the war against terrorism would “continue until the elimination of all terrorists”.

“To fight for the cause of Pakistan, the security forces, along with the law enforcement agencies, and the brave people of Pakistan — especially the brave people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — have made unprecedented sacrifices,” he said.