QUETTA — A hand grenade lobbed into a crowded market area on Patel Road killed one person and wounded four others on Tuesday evening, police said.
The blast echoed through the bustling commercial hub just as shoppers were finishing their evening errands. Emergency teams reached the scene within minutes, cordoning off the area and rushing the injured to the Civil Hospital Quetta.
“The device was hurled by unidentified individuals on a motorcycle,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations, who briefed reporters at the site. He confirmed the death of one civilian, while two of the four injured remain in critical condition.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. The incident follows a pattern of targeted strikes in the provincial capital, often aimed at creating instability in densely populated zones.
For the residents of Patel Road, the blast is a grim reminder of the city’s volatile security landscape. Market activity, which usually stretches late into the night, ground to a halt as shopkeepers shuttered their businesses in panic.
Police are currently reviewing CCTV footage from nearby buildings to track the suspects. Investigators believe the assailants took advantage of the heavy evening traffic to make their escape toward the city’s outskirts.
The provincial government has condemned the attack, ordering an immediate security sweep of the district. For now, the victims’ families are left waiting for answers while the city remains under a heightened security alert.
