‘An attack on justice’: 63 killed in hospital bombing in Pakistani city of Quetta





Kasi was shot and killed by gunmen earlier on Monday, as he was on his way to his office, and the lawyers later gathered at the Quetta Civil Hospital to express their grief.




Horrifying scene

One of those who survived the bombing described a horrifying scene, saying there were “bodies everywhere” after the blast. Waliur Rehman said he was taking his ailing father to the emergency ward when the explosion shook the building.


When he looked up, Rehman said he saw bodies of the dead and the wounding crying out for help. He was about 200 metres away from where the bombing struck, he added.





People comfort each other following a deadly bomb blast at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan. (Arshad Butt/Associated Press)

Running in panic

Local TV stations broadcast footage showing people running in panic around the hospital grounds. Afridi said most of the dead were lawyers who had gathered after Kasi’s body was brought to the hospital.


“No one will be allowed to disturb the peace in the province that has been restored thanks to the countless sacrifices by the security forces, police and the people of Baluchistan,” he said in a statement. Sharif asked the local authorities to maintain utmost vigilance and beef up security in Quetta.


Gen. Raheel Sharif, the powerful army chief of Pakistan, visited the Quetta Civil Hospital, and met with those wounded in the attack.

Ali Zafar, the head of the country’s main association of lawyers, condemned the blast as “an attack on justice.” He said lawyers will observe three days of mourning and will not appear in court in solidarity with their colleagues and others killed in the attack.

Quetta and the rest of Baluchistan province have long been hit by insurgency. There are several ethnic Baluch separatist groups operating in the resource-rich province, but al-Qaida and other militant groups also have a presence here.


A Pakistani paramedic accompanies injured lawyers following Monday’s bombing. Many lawyers are reported to be among the casualties of the deadly blast. (Arshad Butt/Associated Press)