UPDATE - At least 5 dead, 29 injured after explosion targets public rally in southwestern Pakistan

UPDATES WITH CASUALTIES; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Aamir Latif and Berk Kutay Gokmen

KARACHI, Pakistan / ISTANBUL (AA) - An explosion targeting a public rally in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday night killed at least five people and injured 29 others, said the provincial health department’s spokesperson.

The blast occurred outside a stadium in Quetta, capital of the southwestern Balochistan province, soon after the culmination of the gathering, according to the police and local media.

Footage on local broadcaster Samaa News showed people putting injured people into police vans and private vehicles.

There was no immediate word on the nature of the blast.

The gathering was organized by the Balochistan National Party, a nationalist party led by Sardar Akhtar Mental, a former chief minister of the province.