27 killed, 62 injured in suicide bombing at train station in Pakistan

At least 27 people, including 14 security forces, were killed and 62 others injured on Saturday in a suicide bombing at a train station in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, officials said.

The explosion ripped through the train station of the provincial capital Quetta as passengers gathered on the platform for the departure of the Jaffar Express, which was scheduled to leave for Peshawar at 9 a.m. There were about 100 people on the platform when the explosion occurred.

“So far, we have received 27 bodies and at least 62 people have been injured, some of whom are in critical condition,” said Dr Wasim Baig of Quetta Trauma Centre.

Dr. Arbab Kamran Kasi, general director of the Trauma Center, warned that the death toll could rise as several injured people, aged between 20 and 50, remain in critical condition.

Quetta Division Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said it was a suicide attack targeting security forces. Civilians were also severely affected.

“There are approximately 14 members of law enforcement agencies among the dead and dozens more among the injured,” he said.

The suicide bomber had entered the station with luggage, Shafqaat said, adding that it was difficult to stop someone who intended to carry out a suicide attack.

Earlier, SSP Operations Muhammad Baloch had also said that initial findings indicate a possible suicide attack.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic Baloch separatist group designated as a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the attack. The BLA alleges that the federal government is exploiting Balochistan’s resources while neglecting the development of the province. However, the federal government rejects these allegations, claiming that foreign powers are manipulating disaffected elements to commit sabotage.

“All bus stations and public places are on high alert and gatherings are discouraged,” Shafqaat said.

Moazzam Ansari, Inspector General of Police in Balochistan, said early investigations indicate the terrorists “targeted Army Infantry School personnel.”

Rescue and law enforcement teams responded immediately, secured the area and took the injured and deceased to Civil Hospital Quetta, provincial government spokesman Shahid Rind said.

A state of emergency was declared at the hospital, where additional medical personnel were called in to treat the injured.

The explosion, which also damaged the roof of the platform, could be heard far and wide in the city.

BLA has stepped up attacks in the restive province of Balochistan in recent months. Saturday’s suicide attack comes a week after an explosion near a girls’ school and a hospital in Balochistan’s Mastung district killed eight people, including five children.

The terror group has also targeted Chinese nationals working in the province and Karachi. Last month, a suicide bombing near Karachi airport killed two Chinese engineers.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the attack, calling it “a heinous act against innocent civilians,” and ordered an immediate investigation.

He said terrorists were increasingly targeting civilians, workers, women and children, and vowed that those responsible would be pursued relentlessly. Pakistan, particularly the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has seen a sharp increase in terrorism-related incidents over the past year.

According to the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), there was a 90 percent increase in violence in Pakistan in the third quarter of the current year, Geo News reported.

With a total of 722 deaths, including civilians, security personnel and outlaws, while 615 others were injured in as many as 328 incidents recorded during the reporting period, 97% of these fatalities occurred in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

More than 92% of these terrorist attacks and security forces operations were recorded in the same provinces.

The total number of fatalities from three quarters of this year has now surpassed the total number of fatalities for all of 2023; the number of fatalities rose to at least 1,534 in the first three quarters, compared with 1,523 in 2023, the report said.