Iran condemns deadly bomb attacks in Pakistan

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned recent bomb attacks in southern Pakistan, which left dozens of people killed.

The ministry spokesman, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, on Friday denounced deadly terrorist attacks which rocked Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta on Thursday, and the southern port city of Karachi on Wednesday.

Araqchi stressed that any act of terror against innocent Pakistani people and law enforcers is condemned.

The Iranian official also offered condolences to the government and people of Pakistan, and expressed sympathy with the families of the victims of the blasts.

At least 40 people were killed and more than 50 others injured on Thursday when a powerful explosion rocked Quetta, the provincial capital city of Balochistan Province. The attack targeted the funeral of a police officer who was killed in a firing incident the previous day.

On Wednesday, a bomb explosion targeted a football match in Karachi’s Lyari area, killing 11 people and injuring 24 others. The blast occurred when players and spectators were leaving the playground after the final match of a Ramadan night tournament for children, aged between 12 and 15.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since October 2001, when Pakistan joined an alliance with the United States in the so-called war against terrorism.

Militants have carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians and managed to spread their influence in various regions of Pakistan, despite frequent offensives by the army.

Since late 2009, there has been a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan and thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.