A suicide bombing at Quetta Railway Station in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province killed at least 25 people and injured over 50, according to reports. The attack targeted passengers boarding the Jaffar Express as they were to leave for Peshawar. The separatist militant group Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, has claimed responsibility for the attack and says it targeted a military unit based at the station.
According to senior police officer Muhammad Baloch, the suicide bomber was among those killed, carrying 6-8kg of explosives that had wrought havoc and destruction on the platform. Videos of the moment of the blast circulated on social media with smoke and debris covering the platform as passengers screamed for help. The authorities have tightened security around the station.
Commissioner Hamza Shafqat confirmed that the attacker entered the station in the disguise of a passenger before detonating the explosives. Injured passengers are being rushed to the Civil Hospital Quetta where critical cases are being treated. Survivors, still jolted by the attack, said that “Judgement Day” had come and blood and debris littered the area.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti came down heavily on the bombing as a brutal act against civilians and stated that he would mete out swift justice to the perpetrators. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and all the political leaders have reaffirmed those statements and termed them “enemies of humanity.” All security measures in every region of the province have also been promised to be upgraded.
The latest in a series of violent attacks aimed at the Balochistan province of Pakistan comes from a populace who have waged an insurgency for decades. The resource-rich but underdeveloped province has been a conflict hotspot as people demand autonomy and control over local resources.
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