By James Crisp
QUETTA, PAKISTAN - A suicide bomber killed at least 25 people and wounded at least 50 others in an explosion at a crowded railway station in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Saturday.
Nearly 100 passengers were on the platform at about 8.45am local time for the Jaffar Express train to Peshawar from Quetta, which is the capital of the turbulent province.
Belongings, including bloodied clothes, were seen scattered across the devastated platform, which had its steel roof blown apart by the force of the blast. Six of the wounded were in a serious condition and three are in intensive care.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, which targeted soldiers. Fourteen soldiers, five civilians and six railway workers were killed.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, said the armed separatist group “will pay a very heavy price for it”.
He added his security forces were determined to stamp out “the menace of terrorism”.
Commissioner of the Quetta Division, Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat, confirmed the death toll, and that the incident was a suicide bombing. Railway authorities were told to suspend train services, he said, and appealed for blood donations to help the wounded.
He warned the public not to use the railway station because “in such incidents, there is a risk of twin attacks”.
“Right now, we have cordoned off the city and are conducting snap-checking,” he said, “Gatherings have been banned.”
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran and is Pakistan’s largest province, has had many attacks from armed separatist groups in the poor but resource-rich region.
The BLA, which wants independence from Pakistan, is the biggest of several ethnic groups fighting the Government, which it accuses of exploiting its oil and gas reserves.
In August, the banned BLA claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks that killed 39 people. It is designated a terrorist group by the UK and the US.
Train services between Quetta and Peshawar were restored on Oct 11 after they were suspended for more than a month and a half when a key railway bridge was destroyed by the BLA.
Pakistan has seen an increase in terrorist attacks this year. Last week, a bomb blast near a school and hospital in Balochistan’s Mastung district killed eight people, including five children.
Previous attacks have targeted energy projects with foreign, mostly Chinese, financing because the terrorists believe residents don’t benefit from the profits.
The government’s military operation to suppress the rebellion has led to accusations of human rights abuses, including torture, disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
“Since the beginning of 2024, we’ve really seen a surge of violence in Balochistan. So many attacks on security forces,” journalist Saadullah Akhter, who witnessed the aftermath of the attack, told Al Jazeera.
“But this is the first time that the centre of Quetta has been targeted and it is very shocking to many people.”