J-K MLA Devender Singh Rana's untimely demise shocking: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed shock at the death of BJP MLA and veteran Jammu and Kashmir leader Devender Singh Rana.
PM Modi said on X, "Shri Devender Singh Rana Ji's untimely demise is shocking. He was a veteran leader, who worked diligently towards Jammu and Kashmir's progress. He had just won the Assembly polls and had also played a noteworthy role in making the BJP stronger in J-K.
"In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with his family and supporters. Om Shanti."
Rana (59), Union Minister Jitendra Singh's brother, was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Haryana's Faridabad, where he passed away.
Rana was a stalwart leader of the Jammu region and leading face of the National Conference, especially in the Jammu region, for decades before he joined the BJP in 2021.
He won the recent assembly polls from the Nagrota constituency with the highest margin in Jammu and Kashmir.
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5 schoolchildren among 7 killed in blast in southwest Pakistan
Islamabad (PTI): At least seven people, including five schoolchildren and a policeman, were killed on Friday in a remote-controlled blast in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, according to media reports.
The blast occurred at 8.35 am near a school at the Civil Hospital Chowk of the Mastung district of the province, Dawn newspaper reported.
“It appears that an IED (improvised explosive device) attached to a motorcycle was detonated near a police mobile,” Kalat Division Commissioner Naeem Bazai was quoted as saying in the report.
“So far, seven individuals have been killed, including five school students,” Bazai said. At least 22 people were injured in the attack.
Most of those injured were schoolchildren, Geo News reported, adding that they were shifted to a nearby hospital.
A police van and several auto-rickshaws were damaged in the explosion, according to the report.
An emergency was declared across all Quetta hospitals after the blast, the report said quoting the provincial health department spokesperson, adding that all doctors, pharmacists, staff nurses and other medical staff were summoned.
