The military hospital in Rawalpindi in Pakistan was rocked by a huge blast on Sunday evening. Footages shared by local people on social media show black smoke coming out from the hospital premises after the blast.
https://twitter.com/am_nawazish/status/1142768636983218186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The blast took place near the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology, which is located inside the Rawalpindi cantonment. According to reports, at least 10 persons were shifted to the emergency ward of the hospital following the explosion.
https://twitter.com/AbdulQa32274927/status/1142820277169950722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/ali_axhar/status/1142774098516434945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The blast in the hospital assumes significant because Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar was reportedly being treated here. The terror leader was reported to be suffering from renal failure and he was undergoing regular dialysis at the army hospital. Although later reports had suggested that Azhar was shifted from the hospital to a highly secured location after the Balakot strikes.
There is no clarity on the cause of the blast yet. Although many people reported it to be a bomb blast, some people claimed that it was a gas cylinder or a gas pipeline blast. Some others also claimed that the blast was caused by a malfunctioning AC unit, and others said it happened in a boiler room. And as this is a highly protected are being a military hospital, the possibility of it being a terrorist attack seems minimal, therefore it is more probable to be an accident.
Although the news of the blast was reported widely by social media uses, there was no news about the same on Pakistani media. This media blackout about the incident had led to many people to speculate that it may be more than a simple accident. Even if it was an accident, it should have been reported by media as it is a major army hospital, and it was widely reported on social media.