The incident took place in Hazar Ganji area on the outskirts of Quetta city, the capital of the oil and gas rich Baluchistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan.
"A bus carrying Pakistani Shiite Muslims was coming to Quetta from Iran when a bomb exploded near it, killing eight people including six Shiite pilgrims and two escorting policemen," senior local police official, Hamid Shakeel, told AFP.
"Our initial investigation suggests it was a remote controlled device planted along the road," he said.
Another senior local police official, Sikandar Tareen, confirmed the casualties.
Baluchistan has become an increasing flashpoint for sectarian violence between Pakistan`s majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites, who account for around a fifth of the country`s 167 million population.
Baluchistan is also rife with Islamist militancy and a regional insurgency waged by separatists who rose up in 2004 demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region`s wealth of natural resources.
It is one of the most deprived regions of Pakistan despite its wealth in resources, and human rights activists have accused the military of mass arrests and extra-judicial executions in its bid to put down the separatist insurgency.
Around 5,000 people have been killed in outbreaks of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite militant groups in Pakistan since the late 1980s. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
