13 injured in explosion in market in Pakistan's Balochistan province

Karachi: At least 13 people were injured on Monday after an explosion in a market in Khuzdar district of Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.

A senior police official said the explosives were attached to a motorcycle parked in the market and were detonated by remote control.

“Since it was night time there were fewer people around and most shops were closed so there were no casualties,” a police official said.

“The police have reached the area and cordoned it off,” the official added.

The injured were moved to the District Headquarters Hospital and two of the injured are said to be in critical condition.

The attack comes amid growing militancy in the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Province with the reported return of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban militants from Afghanistan.

Presently, there is a standoff going on between security forces and militants who took over the Bannu Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) compound on Sunday.

The militants, who were detained at the facility, have held interrogators hostage and are demanding a safe evacuation to Afghanistan.