20 killed in bomb blast in Pakistan
Karachi: At least 20 people were killed and 48 others injured on Friday in a suicide bombing apparently targeting the Shiite Hazara ethnic minority community at a crowded fruit market in Pakistan's Quetta city.
The blast at around 7:35 am was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) that had been hidden among the vegetables in the market, police said.
"So far 20 people have been confirmed dead," provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Langove said.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdul Razzaq Cheema said that Shiite Hazara ethnic community was the apparent target of the bombing.
"The victims include from Hazara and other ethnic groups like Pashtuns," he said.
At least eight of those killed in the bomb blast at Hazarganji area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, belonged to the Hazara community. The security forces fear the death toll may rise, GEO News reported.
Forty eight others were injured and were undergoing treatment. Four FC personnel were also among the injured, the official added. Buildings located nearby were also damaged in the blast, police said. Security forces have cordoned off the site of the blast.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the blast in Hazarganji and sought a report on the incident.
Hazaras make up a significant minority group in Pakistan and most of them live in Quetta.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan's largest and poorest province, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.
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'With or without Budget, we are doing our work': Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said that he does not need announcements to be made in the State Budget to carry out developmental works.
He said this highlighting the developmental works in his native district of Bengaluru South.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the 2026-27 Budget on March 6. This would be Siddaramaiah's record 17th budget.
"No need to have expectations from the Budget. With or without the Budget, we are doing our work," Shivakumar said in response to a question on what can be expected from the Budget.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "Others need the Budget. We don't. It's not that we need to take up work only if it is announced in the Budget."
Citing the example of flagship Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) in Bengaluru South district, Shivakumar said, "You get a survey done across the country. Bengaluru South district has 25 government schools, each one costing Rs 15 crore. We have ensured it. Has anyone else done it? Was this in the Budget? We created it, it is our concept. Now there is a state level policy for 2,000 such schools."
Further pointing out that during the JD(S)-Congress coalition government under H D Kumaraswamy's Chief Ministership in 2018-19, he had ensured a medical college was announced for the then Ramanagara (now Bengaluru South) district, he said, "But the next BJP government under B S Yediyurappa cancelled it and took the medical college to Chikballapura district. Now, we have given medical colleges to both Ramanagara and Kanakapura (taluks in the Bengaluru South district)."
He also highlighted private medical colleges are coming up in Channapatna taluk and one between Ramanagara and Kanakapura taluks.
