Terror attack near stadium in Quetta: An exhibition game of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was stopped on Sunday at the Nawab Akbar Bugti Stadium in Quetta due to a nearby terrorist attack, and the top players like Babar Azam and Shahid Afridi who were playing were rushed to safety in the dressing room.
According to PTI, the game was stopped for a short time when an explosion in Quetta’s Police Lines area injured five persons. According to a senior police official, all on-site rescue efforts had been completed, and the injured had been taken to the hospital. In a statement on Sunday, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an outlawed organization, claimed responsibility for the attacks. It claimed that the explosive was aimed at the security personnel.
The police official said “As soon as the explosion happened, as a precautionary measure, the match was stopped and players were taken to the dressing room for a while. Later, after the green signal, the match resumed.”
The Pakistan Super League will begin on February 13 and continue until March 19. In response to pressure from Baloch supporters that Quetta also be granted PSL venue status, the Pakistan Cricket Board scheduled the exhibition game between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi. Zalmi are led by Babar Azam, while Sarfaraz Ahmed, a former captain of Pakistan, is in charge of the Gladiators.
According to Pakistani news site Dawn.com, the blast occurred at the FC Mussa checkpoint on Sunday morning, injuring more than five persons. Local media sources state that the explosion happened in a safe area close to the Quetta Police headquarters and the Quetta Cantonment entrance.
Due to the precarious security situation and the fear of terrorist attacks, sports activity has been completely stopped in Quetta, the capital of the unrest-ridden Balochistan province, for the past few years. TTP terrorist attacks have increased recently. 80 people were killed and several others were injured just a few days ago in a suicide bombing attack in Peshawar on police lines.
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