Pakistan blast: A bombing claimed by Pakistani separatists killed 25 people, including 14 Army soldiers, at a railway station in Quetta in Balochistan province on Saturday, November 9. The blast hit as passengers waited on a platform at the main railway station in the provincial capital Quetta.
“Fourteen army personnel are among the 25 confirmed dead,” said Muhammad Baloch, a senior local police official, raising an earlier toll of 22 provided by the local government, told news agency AFP.
At the time of the blast, a train was ready to depart from the platform for Peshawar, reported news agency Reuters.
Quetta senior superintendent of Police (SSP) operations Mohammad Baloch earlier said the incident “seems to be a suicide blast” but it would be too early to say for sure, adding that an investigation was underway to ascertain the nature of the blast.
Speaking to reporters, SSP Baloch added that “around 100 people” were present at the site, Dawn News reported citing footage seen by him.
Mohammad Baloch, a senior police officer, said the bomb exploded when passengers were waiting for a train to travel to the garrison city of Rawalpindi from Quetta.
In a statement, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said police and security forces had reached the site of the incident.
Shahid Rind said the nature of the blast was being investigated as the Bomb Disposal Squad was collecting evidence from the site, and a report on the incident had been sought.
Shahid Rind said the death toll from the attack was likely to rise as some of the wounded passengers were listed in critical condition.
In a statement, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said police and security forces had reached the site of the incident.
The government official stated that an ‘emergency’ has been imposed in the hospitals there, adding that the “injured were being provided with medical aid,” Dawn News reported.
The train station explosion hit at around 8:45am (0345 GMT) and was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of the area’s main separatist groups.
The attack “was carried out on a Pakistani army unit at Quetta railway station… after completing a course at the Infantry School,” the BLA said in a statement.
The Associated Press of Pakistan, the official news agency, cited railway officials as saying the blast happened near the ticket booth when two trains were scheduled to depart.
Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, resource-rich Balochistan is home to separatist militants.
Militants have in the past targeted energy projects with foreign financing – most notably from China – accusing outsiders of exploiting the region while excluding residents from the profits.
One of the militant groups – the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) — frequently claims deadly attacks against security forces or Pakistanis from other provinces, notably Punjabis.
In August, the BLA claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks by dozens of assailants who killed at least 39 people, one of the highest tolls to hit the region.
