QUETTA: Today marks the fourth anniversary of the terror attack at Civil Hospital in Quetta.
More than 70 people, mainly lawyers, were killed in the suicide bombing and shooting and 130 others were injured.
The fatalities were mainly lawyers who had assembled at the hospital where the body of Advocate Bilal Anwar Kasi, the president of Balochistan Bar Association, was brought after he was shot dead by unknown gunmen.
Kasi was attacked on the morning that near Mengal Chowk on Manno Jan Road while leaving home for work. A suspected suicide bombing took place inside the hospital followed by gunfire resulting in fatalities and injuries.
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Police and Frontier Corps took over the area after the attack and an emergency was declared in hospitals of Quetta. Bomb Disposal Squad reported that 8 to 9 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack. Two journalists also died in the attack while performing their duties.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of TTP, also claimed credit for the attack on advocate Kasi and the hospital.
The then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain and several prominent civil and military leaders had condemned the attack and expressed their grief over the loss of lives.
Consequently, a meeting was held to review the implementation of National Action Plan and it was decided that a task force consisting of senior officials from the security agencies will be established to monitor progress.
