Nine people, including a traffic policeman and three children, were injured in a blast on Quetta’s Zarghoon Road on Wednesday, according to police.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operation Jawad Tariq confirmed the number of injured to Dawn.com. He said that explosive material was planted in a heap of trash that had been lying for some time.

The explosion occurred when children, who were picking trash, were sifting through the garbage, he said.

It was unclear what kind of explosive device was used, Tariq said. “The explosion was not a security lapse,” he asserted.

“Foolproof security arrangements have been made with regards to the elections,” he added.

The head of the Quetta Trauma Centre, Dr Arbab Kamran, said that the injured were shifted to Civil Hospital. He added that two people were reported to be in critical condition.

On Tuesday, PPP candidate Mir Asghar Rind had survived a grenade attack in Turbat. The incident occurred when an unknown motorcyclist threw a grenade at his residence in Overseas Colony. Rind, a PPP leader and candidate for the Balochistan Assembly, remained unharmed but his brother sustained injuries.

On Monday, the premises of Government Model High School in Kharan was targeted by unknown men during a training session for polling staff.