A blast in Balochistan’s Khuzdar killed two policemen and wounded two others on Saturday, police said. They added that the explosion occurred when the police vehicle was patrolling in Jhalawan Complex.

The blast ripped through the vehicle. Khuzdar Commissioner Mohammad Ilyas Kabzai had reached the blast site along with a heavy contingent of the levies force.

The explosion was so loud that its sound was heard throughout the city, the police said.

Levies have cordoned off the area. Casualties were shifted to the hospital. Earlier, the Khuzdar deputy commissioner had imposed an emergency in the hospital and summoned doctors and the paramedic staff to the infirmary.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leader Mir Younus Aziz Zehri “strongly condemned” the targeting of policemen.

“Innocent policemen perform their duties to protect the public. Targeting them is an attempt to disrupt public order. The security agencies should ensure the safety of people’s lives and property by suppressing such terrorism,” he said.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terrorist attacks since the end of a shaky ceasefire agreed upon with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban in November last year.

A suicide bomber killed more than 80 people in a mosque located in a supposedly fortified area in Peshawar last month. Earlier, this month a group of terrorists killed four people, including two policemen, one Rangers man, and a sanitary worker, as they attempted to besiege the Karachi Police Office.

Meanwhile, the Central Apex Committee, which met against the backdrop of such attacks, agreed that the elimination of terrorism, economic revival, and political stability were interlinked.

“Since Pakistan cannot afford internal instability, national solidarity, unity and collective efforts were the need of the hour. In order to achieve these targets, national consensus should be evolved and hurdles in its way should be removed,” the apex committee, which met on Friday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair, said in a statement on Friday.

Participants praised all the law enforcement agencies – including armed forces, Rangers, Frontier Corps, Counter Terrorism Department, and police – for showing “exemplary bravery and courage” against terrorism and paid tribute to the martyred officers and jawans.

The committee considered the issue of non-availability of funds approved in the past for Karachi police and the security. It directed that all obstacles in the ways of projects concerning police, counter terrorism department and security should be removed without any further delay.

“Protection of national security and life and property of people was the basic constitutional responsibility which should be performed with national passion, sincerity, focus and the best of abilities,” it said.