ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Thursday that the bomb blast in Quetta’s Serena Hotel was a suicide attack, which was carried out with a view to destabilising Pakistan.

Addressing at a press conference here, he said that there were threats of terrorists attack.

“The enemies of Pakistan want to carry out terrorists attacks in big cities of the country in order to stop development in the county,’ he said, adding: “this is why the 22 security institutions under the Ministry of Interior have been put on high alert in the country.”

He said that five people lost their lives and 15 others were injured in the blast that took place in the parking area of the hotel.

The attacker detonated himself inside the car which has been sent for forensic analysis, he said.

The interior minister said the enemies of Pakistan want to destabilise the country and halt its development but their nefarious designs will be thwarted. The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility of the attack through social media, he said.

Rashid pointed towards India’s activities aimed at destabilising Pakistan, saying that during the past eight to 10 days, an estimated 250,000-300,000 social media accounts were created in India in order to disrupt peace in Pakistan.

He said Balochistan and its Gwadar are important for Pakistan's progress, terming Gwadar “the future of the country”.

He said that relevant authorities have been directed to complete investigation into the incident on an immediate basis. The government will ensure law and order in the province, he said.

The minister praised the sacrifices rendered by the Pakistan Army in the war against terrorism.

He said that Pakistan is a great nation and with the help of its great armed forces and intelligence agencies, it will thwart all evil designs as well as conspiracies being hatched in India, he said.

To a question about the Chinese ambassador, he said that the Chinese ambassador was in Quetta for the past few days and “he’s safe”.

He rejected speculation that the Chinese ambassador was present at the hotel when the blast took place, saying that the diplomat was somewhere else.

To another question, he said that the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Information Technology were working towards finding a solution, so an appropriate law could be enacted in order to avoid security threats that emanate through social media.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021