Blast at cricket stadium in Pakistan kills one person, several injured: Police

In shocking news, a targeted blast at a cricket stadium in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province killed at least one person while injuring several others. Per reports emerging out of the country, an IED blast at the Kausar Cricket Ground in Khar tehsil led to panic, with a viral video of people running around to save their lives with a thick cloud of smoke emerging in the background doing rounds on social media. The police confirmed the blast, as earlier reported by Dawn.

The local police also informed that the ones injured were taken to the nearby district headquarters hospital, with no reports of anyone claiming responsibility for the attack out yet. It, however, claims that the security officials suspect this terrorist attack in response to Operation Sarbakaf – an anti-terrorism initiative launched by security forces some weeks ago.

Watch Video -

Meanwhile, on the same lines, a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was under attack through a quadcopter last week, injuring a police constable and a civilian.

Not only this, but last month too, on Pakistan’s Independence Day (Aug 14), the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out coordinated gun and grenade attacks on police stations, checkpoints and patrols across several (seven) districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing half a dozen officers.

Pakistan, cricket and terrorism

Even though Pakistan co-hosted the eight-team ICC event (Champions Trophy), which was also the first on their soil since they co-hosted the 1996 ODI World Cup, the BCCI’s and the Indian government’s refusal to send the Indian Team across the border forced the ICC to introduce a hybrid model, with Dubai chosen as a neutral venue.

Although the Pakistani media, their countless fans, influencers, experts, former cricketers and who’s who criticised the Indian government’s move, such blasts occurring now and then on their soil answer plenty of questions. It reflects why the BCCI was adamant and right in denying the Indian Team to Pakistan due to security concerns.