PESHAWAR - After a brief lull, Peshawar witnessed another bloody day when a remote-controlled blast targeted a civil secretariat bus, killing at least 21 people including nine women and injuring 42 others on Charsadda Road in the jurisdiction of Dawoodzai Police Station here on Friday. The tragic incident occurred when civil secretariat bus was carrying government employees from Peshawar to Charsadda district. The remote-controlled device exploded when the bus reached Gul Bela area. The powerful blast completely destroyed back portion of the passenger bus.  The incident resulted in killing of 21 people and injuring 42 others. The injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar where they were provided emergency medical treatment. Moving scenes were witnessed at Lady Reading Hospital, where large numbers of people were present to get first-hand information about their relatives after the incident. Soon after the incident Edhi ambulances and Rescue 1122 staff rushed to the scene and collected the dead bodies and injured from the blast site to shift them to hospital. Most of the injured were in critical condition. Medical Superintend Lady Reading Hospital confirmed killing of 21 people. He said 42 others were also injured in the attack. He said they had received 11 bodies while rest of the bodies were shifted to the Charsadda Hospital. Police and bomb disposal squad also rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the area. IG bomb disposal squad Shafaqat Malik said around eight kilogram of explosive material was used in the attack. CSP Shafiullah Khan, confirming it was a remote-controlled blast, said bus of secretariat employees was targeted by the militants. He said investigation was underway and soon the culprits would be arrested. Meanwhile, Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain visited Lady Reading Hospital and condemned the blast in strongest words. He said terrorists were showing their real image to the public by targeting the innocent people. He said they were spreading fear and panic among the masses but through such mean tactics they would not succeed in their aims. It merits mentioning here that after a pause of about two months militants hit Peshawar again. Earlier, a funeral prayer in Badhabera was targeted in the provincial metropolis which had killed 17 people and injured a dozen others.