An explosion at the railway station in Quetta on Saturday killed at least 27 people and injured 61 others, including waiting passengers, passersby and security officials.
The blast took place when the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express and the Chaman-bound Chaman Express trains were due to depart the station, and many passengers for the two trains were present on the platform where the attack took place.
Quetta Police Operations SSP Muhammad Baloch said per initial investigations, the blast appeared to be a suicide blast, but a probe is underway, and it was too early to definitively ascribe the nature of the blast. Baloch further said that the victims included police, passersby, and passengers.
Quetta's Inspector General of Police Mouzzam Jah Ansari said they believe the attack is believed to have targetted soldiers from the infantry school, with 13 personnel embracing martyrdom while another 42 were wounded. At least two of the injured belonged to the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC), while another 10 were civilians. Among those injured, doctors described the condition of six as critical, with three admitted to intensive care.
Hospital officials said that at least six of the fatalities belonged to railway employees.
Provincial Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar and Health Secretary Mujeebur Rahman declared an emergency in the Civil Hospital and Quetta Trauma Centre. Bakht Kakar told the media that additional doctors and paramedics have arrived at the two medical institutions to help provide medical assistance. He also directed the MS of the Civil Hospital to ensure better and immediate medical care for all the casualties of the railway station blast.
Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti strongly condemned the deadly blast. He said that terrorists had targeted innocent people. He further said that the attack will not deter their resolve and that actions against terrorists will continue.
In response to the attack, Quetta Division Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat ordered the suspension of train services to ensure public safety.
The Majeed Brigade of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack, noting in a statement issued to the media that their 'fidayee' had carried out the attack and further details will be released later. The Majeed Brigade is the suicide bombing arm of the BLA, which surfaced in the past two years by stepping up suicide bombings across the southern corridor of Pakistan, from Turbat to Karachi. They also claimed responsibility for last month's suicide bombing of Chinese engineers in Karachi.
Saturday's attack follows a recent bombing near a girl's school and a hospital in Balochistan's Mastung district, where the attackers targetted polio teams — as they attempted to inoculate innocent children against the untreatable, crippling disease, underscoring rising security concerns in the region.
BLA, a separatist militant group, has conducted a frightening terror blitz across Balochistan and Sindh in recent years, targetting locals, labourers, civil administration and foreigners. The intensity and boldness of its attacks have increased over time, and in August, they killed dozens of labourers by intercepting inter-provincial busses, pulling people off and targeting them after identifying their ethnicity through their identity cards.