QUETTA: At least three people were killed and 11 others wounded after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in a border district in Pakistan southwestern Balochistan province, a government official said on Sunday.

The blast took place inside a market next to a security forces camp in Gulistan town of Killa Abdullah district, located close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The explosives were planted on a vehicle and were detonated at around 8:30pm, according to Killa Abdullah Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Riaz Dawar.

“Majority of the shops inside the market were closed when the blast hit the market,” Dawar told Arab News.

“A wall of the security forces’ camp was also partially damaged due to the intensity of the blast.”

The bodies and injured were shifted to hospital. Two of the wounded persons were brought to Trauma Center in Quetta who were in stable condition and undergoing treatment, according to Dr. Arbab Kamran Kasi.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Gulistan town that is situated close to Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.

Pakistan is currently battling twin insurgencies: one led my religiously motivated groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), mainly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and the other by ethno-nationalist Baloch separatist groups in Balochistan.

The TTP and Daesh have also maintained some presence in Balochistan.

The latest attack comes two days after the TTP said it had targeted a security check post in Balochistan’s Khuzdar that killed four members of the Levies paramilitary force.

In Jan. 2025, Pakistan’s military said security forces had thwarted an attack on a paramilitary force’ camp in Gulistan, killing two suicide bombers among five attackers.

ISLAMABAD: Yousuf Raza Gillani, chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, on Sunday attended the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV in Vatican City, Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) said, in a show of Islamabad’s commitment to promoting interfaith harmony.

Pope Leo XIV set the tone for his papacy with a call to stop exploiting nature and marginalizing the poor at the inaugural mass, attended by dignitaries including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance.

Ten days after he became the first US head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, some 200,000 people gathered to see his inaugural mass in St. Peter’s Square, according to the Vatican.

Gillani’s presence at the mass highlighted Pakistan’s respect for the Catholic community worldwide and its dedication to fostering dialogue and mutual understanding among diverse religious traditions.

“Gillani is scheduled to engage in bilateral meetings with Vatican officials and international counterparts to discuss shared interests, including the promotion of peace, protection of minority rights, and the advancement of interfaith collaboration,” the PID said.

“Pakistan remains steadfast in its advocacy for religious tolerance and coexistence, and Chairman Gillani’s participation in this significant event reaffirms the nation’s role in promoting global understanding and harmony.”

Before the mass began, the Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost delighted the crowds by taking to the popemobile for the first time, smiling, waving and blessing those he passed.

In his homily, the soft-spoken 69-year-old returned to the themes of peace, reconciliation and social justice that have marked his first few days as pope.

“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest,” he said.

After two decades spent as missionary in Peru, the new pope — who was only made a cardinal in 2023 — is unknown to many Catholics.

But many of those gathered in St. Peter’s Square said they liked what they had heard so far.

Maria Grazia La Barbera, 56, a pilgrim from Palermo in Sicily, said Leo was “the right person at the right time” to lead the Church.

“He will certainly do what he promised: knocking down walls and building bridges,” she said.
— With additional input from AFP