At least 24 people were killed, and more than 40 others injured after an explosion occurred at the Quetta Railway Station in Pakistan’s Balochistan on Saturday. At the time of the blast, a train was ready to depart from the platform for Peshawar, reported news agency Reuters.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) operations Mohammad Baloch said that the blast “seems to be a suicide blast.” He further said that it would be too early to say this with surety. He further revealed that an investigation was underway to ascertain the nature of the blast.
“The blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination,” senior superintendent of police operations, Muhammad Baloch told Reuters
SSP Baloch while speaking to reporters said that “around 100 people” were there at the site. He added that the bomb exploded when passengers were waiting for the arrival of the train to travel to the garrison city of Rawalpindi from Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province.
The Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind in a statement, said, police and security forces had reached the site of the incident.
Shahid Rind further said that the nature of the blast was investigated while the Bomb Disposal Squad was collecting evidence from the site.
Dead Toll likely to Rise
Shahid Rind said the death toll from the attack was likely to rise as some of the wounded passengers were gravely injured.
As reported by the Dawn News, the government official stated that an ‘emergency’ has been imposed in the hospital and “injured were being provided with medical aid.”
History of Attacks in Balochistan
Balochistan, the largest and most underdeveloped province of Pakistan, is endowed with abundant natural resources. However, it is also home to separatist militant organizations. One such group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), frequently takes responsibility for deadly attacks on security forces and people from other provinces, especially Punjabis, according to AFP reports.
In August, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility for a series of coordinated attacks carried out by dozens of militants, which led to at least 39 deaths—one of the highest casualty figures the region has experienced in recent years.
In a separate attack later the same month, gunmen killed at least nine people in Balochistan’s Qalat district, including four police officers and five civilians, according to authorities and AFP reports.
