Authorities say no fewer than 25 people were killed after a bomb explosion at a train station in Pakistan’s Balochistan region.
Dozens more were injured in the explosion, which occurred as a popular morning train was ready to depart Quetta station in southern Pakistan for Peshawar.
The Balochistan Liberation Army, a militant group, claimed responsibility for the bombing, which authorities described as a suicide attack.
The province has recently seen an increase in fatal attacks, fuelled by calls for independence and control over local resources.
According to the city’s commissioner, the blast killed at least 25 individuals, including the suicide bomber, and injured approximately 50 others.
Muhammad Baloch, a senior police official, said the blast was likely caused by a suicide bomber carrying 6–8 kg of explosives.
He informed the BBC that both civilians and military personnel were killed or injured. Videos posted on social media appear to capture the moment the explosion occurred on Saturday morning, with dozens of people seen on the platform.
There is also film circulating of the aftermath, which shows a lot of injured persons and debris scattered throughout the station.
Abdul Jabbar was among the injured transported to the Civil Hospital. He stated that he was entering the station after purchasing a ticket from the booking office when the explosion occurred.
“I can’t describe the horror I faced today; it was like a judgement day has come,” he said.
Muhammad Sohail, who arrived soon after the explosion, had happened to catch his train to Multan.
“Everything was destroyed at the station, and people were laying down on the ground screaming for help,” he said.
The Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a social media statement, the group said it targeted a Pakistani military force returning from Quetta after finishing a training course.
Balochistan’s chief minister condemned the act and described the offenders as “worse than animals.”.
He stated that the authorities would follow them and “bring them to their logical end.”.
Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, condemned the incident, calling those responsible “enemies of humanity.”
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province and has the most natural resources, yet it is also the least developed.
The region shares a violent border with Iran and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and it has a lengthy coastline along the Arabian Sea.
