Five killed, 12 injured in Barkhan bike bomb blast: police

• Injured shifted to a local hospital. 
• Explosion damaged several cars, motorcycles and shops.
• Area cordoned off, traffic completely suspended. 

At least five people were killed while 12 others were injured when a motorcycle laden with explosives blew up in the Barkhan district of Balochistan, the police said on Sunday.

The police said that the explosion took place in the Rakhni Bazaar area and the injured have been shifted to a local hospital. Some injured were also being shifted to Dera Ghazi Khan hospital, police added.

The law enforcement agency also shared that the explosion had damaged several cars, motorcycles and shops.

Security forces cordoned off the area and completely suspended traffic after the incident.

Meanwhile, the police and law enforcement agencies are collecting the evidence.

PM Shehbaz seeks report 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought a report of the incident from Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and the inspector-general of police (IG).

The premier also directed to ensure the best medical facilities for those wounded in the blast.

"The terrorists will not be able to escape from the punishment," stressed the PM.

Condemning the incident, the prime minister expressed grief over the loss of lives. "We will make an example out of those who spill innocent blood," he added.

PM Shehbaz also prayed for those who lost their lives and for speedy recovery of the injured.

In a separate statement, CM Bizenjo condemned the incident, directing the authorities concerned to provide the best treatment facilities to the injured.

Expressing deep sorrow over the loss of lives, Bizenjo said that anti-state elements will not be allowed to succeed.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the incident, saying that the elements involved in terrorism are unforgivable.

The former president said that the federal and provincial governments should bring all terrorist to justice.

Zardari also offered sympathies to the family of those who were killed and prayed for the speedy recovery of the wounded.

Khuzdar blast 

A day earlier, two policemen were martyred and one suffered injuries in a blast in Balochistan's Khuzdar district. 

According to the district administration, unidentified miscreants planted an improvised explosive device (IED) which went off while police personnel were patrolling and passing by the area.

Resultantly, the police van's driver Deen Mohammad lost his life instantly, while two others suffered critical injuries.

Soon after the incident, Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar Ilyas Kibzai reached the site and had the victims shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital. One of the policemen died at the medical facility while the other was under treatment.

An emergency was imposed in the hospital and a large number of citizens reached the medical facility to donate blood.

Meanwhile, the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) cordoned off the area and launched a search for the perpetrators, while a probe was underway.