At least nine people were killed and 29 injured when a pile of confiscated explosives blew up at a police station in the Indian portion of Kashmir late on Friday, Reuters reported citing police sources, days after a car blast in New Delhi killed eight people.

Most of the dead were policemen, including forensic officials who were examining the explosives, said the sources, who did not wish to be named. Some of the injured are in critical condition, they said.

“The identification of the bodies is underway, as some have been completely burnt,” one of the sources said.

“The intensity of the blast was such that some body parts were recovered from nearby houses, around 100-200 metres away from the police station.”

The police chief of India’s federally administered Jammu and Kashmir region is expected to address a press conference on the incident shortly.

Earlier, a local police official told Reuters an explosion had ripped through Nowgam police station. The official said fire had engulfed the compound and fire tenders had been rushed to the spot.

The blast comes four days after a deadly car explosion in Indian capital New Delhi killed at least eight people in what the government has called a terror incident.

Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have for decades fought periodic wars over the disputed region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full and rule only in part.

Pakistan’s top court called a meeting of all judges on Friday, after parliament passed a constitutional amendment this week that curbed its remit, prompting two judges to quit, saying the reform “stands as a grave assault on the constitution”.

Under the amendment, which the political opposition says has undermined democracy, the Supreme Court will no longer hear constitutional cases. The changes also expand the powers of the country’s army chief and extend his term, Reuters reported.

In theory, the remaining Supreme Court judges can suspend the new law, but lawyers said that was unlikely. Before this week, the court had 24 judges.

Pakistan’s government has waged a sweeping crackdown on dissent and its main opposition, which has included jailing former prime minister Imran Khan for over two years. Rights groups say the crackdown has been led by the powerful military and have routinely looked to the courts to safeguard democracy.

The military has repeatedly denied interfering in politics.

The administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the changes would improve governance and reward the army chief for the military’s performance in the conflict with India in May.

“Pakistan has today taken a constitutional path,” Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament on Friday. “The judges used to do politics. They used to undermine parliament.”

‘CRIPPLED JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE’

In his resignation letter on Thursday, the Supreme Court’s second-most senior judge, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, said of the amendment: “By fracturing the unity of the nation’s apex court, it has crippled judicial independence and integrity, pushing the country back by decades.”

“The constitution that I swore an oath to uphold and defend is no more,” wrote Athar Minallah, the other judge to resign. “What is left is a mere shadow, one that breathes neither its spirit, nor speaks the words of the people to whom it belongs.”

On Friday, the chief justice of the controversial new Federal Constitutional Court, which will now hear all constitutional cases, was sworn into office. Under the reform, judges are appointed by the government.

ARMY CHIEF’S TERM EXTENDED

The amendment also elevates army chief Asim Munir to a new title, chief of defence forces, formally putting him in charge of the navy and air force as well. He will also hold his rank of field marshal and have immunity from prosecution for life.

The government said that, as Munir was appointed to a new job, his five-year term starts again, meaning he will serve until 2030. His tenure can be extended for another five years after that. Munir was appointed as army chief in 2022.

The military did not respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. on Wednesday sanctioned individuals and entities in several countries related to their support of Iran’s ballistic missile and drone production, in the latest attempt to pressure Tehran, Reuters reported.

A total of 32 individuals and entities based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, India, Germany and Ukraine that operate multiple procurement networks are being targeted in Wednesday’s designations, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

“These networks pose a threat to U.S. and allied personnel in the Middle East and to commercial shipping in the Red Sea,” the department said in a statement.

The U.S., its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of using its nuclear program as a veil for efforts to try to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, read the report.