Quetta hospital blast has Pakistan bleed by a thousand cuts, world mourns

Terror scars Pakistan again, as a suicide bomb attack killed at least 70 people at a hospital in Quetta, Balochistan, in south-west part of the country.

At least 120 others were injured in the blast, which occured at the Quetta Civil Hospital, as a group of journalists and lawyers belonging to Balochistan Bar Association had gathered at the entrance to the emergency department where the body of a prominent lawyer - Bilal Anwar Kasi, shot dead earlier on Monday - was being brought.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban - Jamaat-ul-Ahrar - has said it was behind the bombing, though the Balochistan chief minister, Sanaullah Zehri, has "blamed RAW" (India's Research and Analysis Wing) in a despicable display of insensitive blamegame.

Pakistani political establishment has unanimously condemned the attack, with prime minister Nawaz Sharif and chief of army staff Gen Raheel Sharif visiting Quetta for security briefing and assessment of the massive intelligence failure.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar first gunned down Kasi, president of the Balochistan Bar Association, who was on his way from his home to the main court complex in Quetta. Then it carried out a lethal targeted suicide attack at the very hospital where he was brought and pronounced deal.There was absolute mayhem and bloodshed at the hospital blast, with "bodies everywhere" and survivors screaming for help in pain amid the dust and gore.

Meanwhile, outrage is pouring into Twitter, with Pakistani social media, as well as the global Twitterati condemning the attack in no uncertain terms.

Many pointed out the reprehensible blame-game of Pakistani establishment, while ignoring the massive loopholes in their own intelligence gathering and military industrial complex.

Chief of army staff, Raheel Sharif, was criticised for "behaving like a politico" and making appearances at the blast site.

Mediapersons lost in the attack included the 30-year-old Shahzad Khan of Aaj TV.

CM of Balochistan was quoted on Twitter and that sparked some worthless consiracy theories that incited hatred afresh.

Journalists, who have been demanding better protection from terrorists, staged a demonstration at the Islamabad press club.

Quetta has been dealing with targeted attacks on journalists and lawyers, and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has been responsible for a number of them.

Bilal Anwar Kasi had in fact strongly condemned the targeting of lawyers and journalists who were critical of the ongoing atrocities in Balochistan by terrorist factions.

The president of Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar Association, Syed Ali Zafa, condemned the blast "an attack on justice", while the Pakistan Bar Council has called for a nationwide strike by lawyers on Tuesday.