The two distinct terrorist acts that took place in Pakistan on Friday were denounced by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“We very much condemn the terrorist attacks that took place in Pakistan, killing more than 50 people. The people responsible need to be held to account,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, when asked for Guterres’ reaction to the attacks.
These murders are all the more horrific since they occurred during religious events. The official noted that targeting people as they participate in a peaceful religious ceremony is even more heinous.
50 persons were killed and at least 50 more were injured in an explosion that occurred during a religious gathering on Friday in the Mastung area of Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
The explosion, which is thought to have been a suicide bombing, happened close to a mosque as people gathered to celebrate Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad of Islam.
In a second incident on Friday, a suicide blast inside a mosque in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of the northwest resulted in five fatalities and ten injuries.
