A car bomb exploded late Wednesday in the parking lot of a luxury hotel in Quetta, Pakistan. According to authorities, the blast killed four people and injuring 11.
\”An explosion has rocked the parking area of the Serena Hotel,\” police official Nasir Malik told Reuters, saying 11 people had been wounded. An official at a local civil hospital, Waseem Baig, said four people had died, and \”several others are in critical condition.\”
Two Balochistan government assistant commissioners, who were present in the hotel when the blast occurred. Instantly, the officials were transferred to the Civil Hospital Quetta, along with other injured persons. Some hotel workers, according to hotel authorities, have gone missing.
TTP Claims Responsibility
Furthermore, according to a spokesman for the militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), they carried out a suicide attack in the hotel, in which their suicide bomber used his explosives-filled motorcycle.
Prime Minister Imran Khan Condemns the Attack
Pakistan\’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has stated that the country would not allow the menace of terrorism to resurface, either internally or externally. PM Imran expressed his sorrow for the lives lost and those injured. He called it a \”cowardly terrorist attack\” in Quetta last night in a tweet on Thursday.
Furthermore, The Prime Minister said that our country has made significant sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. Late last night, the Prime Minister himself kept an eye on the situation. He further ordered the Ministry of Interior to probe the incident in all respects and get to the bottom of it.
Chinese Ambassador and Beijing’s Response
China announced on Thursday that no Chinese nationals were injured in the car bomb attack at Quetta\’s Serena hotel while condemning the attack.
Reportedly, Beijing\’s ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, was present in the provincial capital at the time of the strike, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Wang Wenbin.
According to Pakistan\’s interior minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, China\’s ambassador to Pakistan was staying at the hotel. However, he was not present when the bomb detonated. The envoy was safe, according to Provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Lango.
Baluchistan Vitality
The well-protected hotel is located between the Iranian Consulate and the provincial legislature. Quetta is the capital of the mineral-rich southwestern Balochistan province. Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan. The Province has long been the target of a low-level insurgency by tribal nationalists. These insurgents mainly seek a larger share of regional wealth.
Lastly, the province is home to the newly expanded Gwadar deep-water port. The port is a core component of China\’s Belt and Road Initiative economic corridor. The deep-water port will cost $65 billion.
