ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly condemned Friday’s suicide car bomb attack outside a stadium in Helmand province of Afghanistan as people were leaving the stadium after watching a wrestling match.
“We are grieved at the loss of precious and innocent lives in this brutal act of terrorism,” said a Foreign Office statement issued on Saturday.
“We express our heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”
Pakistan reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all forms and manifestations and expresses solidarity with the government and people of Afghanistan in this hour of grief and sorrow.
A car bomb explosion in Lashkargah City in Helmand province on Friday evening killed 15 people and wounded 51 others, local officials confirmed.
Helmand governor’s spokesman Omar Zwak said the explosion happened close to a local stadium in the city.
According to Afghan police officials, the explosion happened at the entrance of the stadium in Lashkargah after a wrestling match taking place at the venue had ended.
No group has claimed responsibility of the explosion.
The incident comes two days after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the Kart-e Sakhi shrine in Kabul, killing at least 32 people and wounding 52 as the Afghan capital celebrated the Nawruz holiday marking the start of the Persian new year.
The explosion underlined the threat to Kabul from militant attacks despite government promises to tighten security in the wake of an attack in January that killed around 100 people.
