The station house officer (SHO) of the Khuzdar Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station was martyred on Thursday in an explosion targeting his vehicle.

Khuzdar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Fahad Khosa told Dawn.com that the incident took place near Jhalawan Medical College located on the National Highway.

The SSP said that the official, identified as Sharbat Khan Umrani, was on his way to work when the explosion took place. He said a bomb had been fitted in the CTD official’s vehicle.

SSP Khosa said police and security forces promptly arrived at the location of the incident along with the bomb disposal squad which was assessing the scale of the blast.

He said that the martyred SHO’s body had been shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove condemned the incident and expressed his grief at the CTD official’s martyrdom.

He said that the country’s fight against terrorism would continue until the last militant was taken care of, adding that Pakistan would overcome any challenge with the public’s cooperation.

On April 11, four Quetta CTD personnel were martyred after an intense gun battle with terrorists in the Killi Spin area of Kuchlak town. One alleged terrorist was also killed during the operation.۔