KARACHI: (Hannan Ali Narejo)A blast ripped through Karachi’s crowded Bolton Market in Kharadar on Monday evening, leaving one woman dead and nearly a dozen people — including three police officers — wounded, Geo News reported. Officials said that a police vehicle was the target as three policemen — including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) — sustained injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED), planted in a motorcycle, was detonated near the mobile. All the injured have been shifted to a hospital, while an emergency has been imposed across all public healthcare facilities in the metropolis. Following the blast, a fire brigade reached the site of the incident and doused the flames. Eyewitnesses said that the sound of the blast could be heard in faraway areas. The development comes four days after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Saddar area left one person dead and 13 injured. The terror incident is still under investigation. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the incident and expressed his sorrow upon the demise of a woman in the blast. He also showed sympathy towards all those injured in the explosion and directed the authorities concerned to arrest the perpetrators involved in the crime as soon as possible. PM Shehbaz further assured the Sindh government of complete assistance from the Centre and ordered enhancing the security situation across the country. He also asked the provincial government to ensure the injured received state-of-the-art treatment facilities. Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz also condemned the incident and prayed for the early recovery of the people injured in the blast. “Only through unity and consensus can we stop such incidents […] the enemy is conspiring to create instability in the country,” the chief minister said in a statement. To foil the attacks, the chief minister said officials would have to think beyond politics and in the interests of the nation.
