At least 24 people were killed and 46 others injured in a suicide bombing at the Quetta Railway Station on Saturday, the city’s commissioner confirmed.
Initial reports suggest the explosion targeted the railway station’s booking office, which traditionally has a large crowd of people. Speaking to media, Quetta Division Commissioner Hamza Shafqat confirmed the death toll and the suicide bombing. He said some law enforcement personnel were among the victims, adding railway administration was directed to temporarily suspend train services in the area.
The banned militant group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Shafqat told Geo News the blast occurred at around 8:25 a.m., a short time before the Jaffer Express was set to depart for Peshawar at 9 a.m. He said the body of the suicide bomber had been identified and urged the public to donate blood for the wounded.
In the immediate aftermath of the blast, Quetta Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Mohammad Baloch told journalists roughly 100 people were in the area when the blast occurred. Another government official said an emergency was imposed in all hospitals of Quetta after the bombing.
There has been a surge in terrorism across Pakistan, particularly Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the return to power of the Afghan Taliban in Kabul. In 2023, the country recorded 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations, a six-year high.
Condemnations
Condemning the incident, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said it was a “continuation of targeting innocent people.” In a statement, he stressed terrorists were increasingly targeting innocent people such as laborers, children and women. “Those targeting innocent people do not deserve mercy,” he said, adding he had ordered an inquiry into the blast.
“Terrorists are not eligible to be called humans. They have fallen from humanity; they are worse than animals,” he said, warning that authorities have traced elements involved in such attacks in the past and would do so again for this bombing. “We will root out terrorism from Balochistan,” he vowed.
In a separate statement, acting President Yousaf Raza Gilani also said terrorists were enemies of humanity who targeted innocent people and reiterated the resolve to take all possible measures for the complete eradication of terrorism.