Explosion in Pakistani hospital kills at least 70, ISIS linked

[Redstreak 6,653]

At least 30 people were killed in a blast at a hospital in northwestern Pakistan, a regional official said.

The explosion also injured at least 60 others, said Rehmat Baloch, the health minister of Balochistan province.

The blast took place at 9:30 a.m. local time (12.30 a.m. ET) Monday in the city of Quetta. The explosion rocked the emergency ward of the civil hospital, Sarfaraz Bugti, Home Minister of Balochistan, told CNN.

There have been no claims of responsibility so far.

Lawyers and journalists had gathered at the hospital after the body of a prominent activist lawyer, Bilal Kasi, shot and killed earlier in the day had been brought there.

Kasi was the Balochistan Bar Association president, according to local media.

Facebook activated its safety check after the hospital blast.

 

UPDATE:

At least 70 reported dead, ISIL claims responsibility

 

 

[Miky 9,588]

Waiting for people to get Pakistani flag on their profile pictures.

Spoiler

I guess not, since it's not Europe.

 

[Serendipity 7,821]

1 hour ago, Miky said:

Waiting for people to get Pakistani flag on their profile pictures.

  Reveal hidden contents

I guess not, since it's not Europe.

 

truth. no one bothers if a massacre occurs in middle east.

if you tweet #Pray4Syria you get dragged.

[Alcina Dimitrescu 1,157]

Omg haroonland no

[Haroon 49,685]

26 minutes ago, SecretWeapon said:

Omg haroonland no

My mother's family are actually from the place this happened, Quetta  (Well only a minority are still living there, majority moved around the world and settled elsewhere).

 

This is so sad  Rest in peace to those who perished and my thoughts and wishes go out to their friends and family  

 

[Melech 9,900]

7 hours ago, Baby Blue said:

truth. no one bothers if a massacre occurs in middle east.

if you tweet #Pray4Syria you get dragged.

pakistan is south asia

[Mr Judas 4,106]

9 hours ago, Chaotic Anis said:

The world is so unbalanced

my god

Why do we have so many Bollywood themed gifs here at GGD 

 

OT: R.I.P to all those who lost their lives, hope that the ones who just survived get good healthcare and return to normalcy soon 

[Serendipity 7,821]

18 minutes ago, Simon said:

pakistan is south asia

I live in India, so I think I know what countries border mine  

[Melech 9,900]

Just now, Baby Blue said:

I live in India, so I think I know what countries border mine  

pakistan is still not middle east lol

[Serendipity 7,821]

Just now, Simon said:

pakistan is still not middle east lol

I know.

[lego 44,165]

@Redstreak update

 

 

 

[Luiz 4,253]

WASHINGTON—

The Pakistani government says it wants to introduce a new counter-extremism policy. But as Monday’s bombing in Quetta shows, Pakistan has a long way to go to stop the carnage that has plagued the country, analysts say.

“A new counterterrorism policy in Pakistan would be a good thing, but I worry it could just be window dressing that papers over the broader problem,” Michael Kugelman, senior researcher at the Woodrow Wilson Center, told VOA.

Kugelman said that the militant extremism problem would not end if Pakistan continues to “refuse to crack down on all forms of terrorism and all forms of terrorist groups.”

Pakistan’s National Counter-terrorism Authority (NACTA), which monitors and proposes counter-extremism strategies, is in the process of forming a new national counter-extremism policy in the country, officials said. “A national counter-extremism policy will be introduced within two months,” NACTA chief officer, Ehsan Ghani told VOA.

School reforms

According to Ghani, the policy will propose new laws as well as amendments to some existing laws in the country. It would also propose reforms in the education sector, including the widespread Madrassa system, to change the “mindset” in the country so the people be tolerant.

But Peshawar-based defense analyst Saad Mohammad Khan, a retired military leader, said the new laws and policies cannot be effective if they are not properly enforced.

“Extremism is everywhere in the society,” Khan added in the interview with VOA. “It is present in our houses, in our schools, offices, market...”

Khan said that unless the entire education system is overhauled, extremist views would be nurturing even in the mainstream and secular schools.

“Children are taught that we [Pakistanis] are better human beings than others, and that other people [nations] are anti-Islam,” Khan told VOA. “When those children grow up, most are paranoid which leads them towards extremism."

According to Khan, prominent members of the ruling Muslim League, which is not an Islamist party, have shown opposition to changing the current curriculum in Pakistani schools.

Experts say many madrassas in Pakistan have been a source of militancy in both Pakistan and in neighboring Afghanistan.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government was scathingly criticized last month for a $3 million grant it recently allocated to Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa, a controversial Islamic seminary that some critics call the “University of Jihad.”

 

more: http://www.voanews.com/content/pakistan-faces-doubts-on-curbing-terror-front/3455732.html