On Monday evening, suicide bombers attacked the police training centre in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. So far, 59 people are reported to have been killed in the attack, and more than 100 injured. Most of them are police cadets.

‘It is particularly despicable that the attack targeted young police cadets while they were asleep. Attacks on institutions that are vital for the rule of law, such as the police, the legal system and the media, are a serious cause for concern,’ said Mr Brende.

This attack comes just a few months after the brutal attack in Quetta at the beginning of August, in which many lawyers and journalists were killed.