QUETTA, July 7: Fourteen people were injured in a blast in the busy Suraj Ganj Bazaar here on Friday. A deputy secretary to the provincial law department, a constable and several traders were among the wounded, police said, adding that several shops were destroyed in the blast.

“It was a home-made device, weighing around 4kg. It was fitted with a timer and attached to a scooter parked in front of a shop,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Qazi Wahad.

The bomb went off at around 12:45pm rocking the city.

Shortly afterwards, Quetta City District Nazim Mir Maqbool Lehri reached the site with police and Edhi volunteers.

The injured were taken to the civil hospital where a state of emergency was declared. Ali Juma, the deputy secretary, had to be shifted to the Combined Military Hospital owing to his serious condition.

“The condition of another injured is serious,” Surgeon Mohammad Sarwar said.

About half a dozen vehicles were destroyed and several shops were damaged. The explosion shattered windowpanes of over a dozen shops.

“I was sitting in my shop when the explosion occurred in front of the shop,” said Mohammad Ayub, who was under-treatment at the civil hospital, adding he did not know when the scooter had been parked.

SSP Operation Ghulam Mehmood Dogar said investigation had been initiated into the incident. A case was registered against unknown terrorists.

The injured were identified as Abdul Sadiq, constable Mohammad Mumtaz, Mohammad Shahzad, Sanaullah, Ziaullah, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Jalil, Syed Daud, Syed Ghulam Mohammad, Mohammad Yaqoob, Ali Afzal and Syed Abdul Wahid.

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