On Tuesday night, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside a stadium as attendees of a nationalist party rally were departing in southwest Pakistan, an area plagued by insurgency. This tragic incident resulted in the deaths of at least 13 individuals and injured 30 others, according to police and hospital officials who provided information on Wednesday.

Majeed Qaisrani, the local police chief, reported that the explosion happened near a graveyard adjacent to the stadium, located on the outskirts of Quetta, which is the capital of Balochistan province.

The body parts of the attacker were recovered, he said.

Waseem Baig, a spokesman for a government hospital, said it had received 13 bodies and dozens of wounded, some in critical condition.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The rally was held to mark the anniversary of the death of Sardar Ataullah Mengal, a veteran nationalist leader and former provincial chief minister.

Akhtar Mengal, the leader of the Balochistan National Party, was not harmed in the explosion. However, some of those who perished or were injured were his supporters, as confirmed by senior police officer Usama Ameen.

Mengal is a vocal critic of the government and often holds rallies to demand the release of missing Baloch nationalists.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the bombing as a “cowardly act of the enemies of humanity,” ordering the best possible medical care for the wounded and a high-level probe to bring the perpetrators to justice.

In Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also denounced the attack, blaming “India-backed terrorists and their facilitators” for trying to destabilize the country by targeting civilians.

He offered no evidence to back up the allegation.

Pakistan’s government and Bugti in recent months have frequently accused India of backing both the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatists, a charge New Delhi denies.

Balochistan has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency, with groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army demanding independence from the central government.

The separatists have largely targeted security forces and workers from Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Although authorities say the insurgency has been subdued, violence in the region continues.

In July, gunmen abducted and killed nine people after stopping two passenger buses on a highway in Balochistan as the buses traveled from Quetta to Punjab province.

Most such previous attacks have been claimed by the outlawed BLA group.