24 Killed, 46 Injured In Suicide Blast In Pakistan’s Balochistan, CCTV Captures Moment

Last Updated:November 09, 2024, 1:02 PM IST

The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the suicide blast at Quetta’s railway station in the latest incident of unrest in restive Balochistan.

Balochistan police said the explosion could have been a suicide blast, although an investigation is underway. (Photo: X)

At least 24 people were killed and 46 others injured in a suicide blast near Quetta’s railway station in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.

The explosion reportedly took place at the railway station’s booking office just before the train arrived at the platform, according to Geo News. As the station is usually crowded, there is a strong possibility that the death toll could rise further.

Quetta Division Commissioner Hamza Shafqat confirmed the death toll, adding that the incident was a suicide blast, Dawn reported. He further said that the administration was writing a letter to the railway authorities to suspend train services.

Several of the injured are in critical condition, said officials. Earlier, Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Operations Quetta Muhammad Baloch said that the explosion “seemed to be a suicide blast”. “The blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination,” said the police officer.

CCTV Captures Horrific Blast

A CCTV footage showed a heavily crowded railway station when the blast occurred, showering everyone in debris as people fled in panic. The blast reportedly targeted Pakistani army personnel from the Infantry School, according to police.

An emergency was imposed in Quetta’s Civil Hospital and additional doctors and support staff were called in to join the duty in the crisis. Pakistan’s Acting president Yousaf Raza Gillani condemned the incident and said terrorists were enemies of humanity who targeted innocent people.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also strongly condemned the attack. According to a government spokesperson, Balochistan CM Sarfaraz Bugti summoned an emergency meeting regarding the province’s law and order situation and cancelled a foreign trip.

Terror Attacks In Balochistan

This incident took place over a week after a bombing near a girls’ school in western Pakistan killed seven people, including five children, in an attack targeting police guarding polio vaccinators, according to officials.

“The police van that came under attack was taking personnel for the protection of polio staff,” Rahmat Ullah, a senior police officer, told AFP on November 1. He added that “there is a girls’ school near the place of the attack” in the city of Mastung in Balochistan province.

Pakistan has witnessed a worrying surge in terrorist attacks in the ongoing year with fatalities in the first three quarters surpassing the numbers recorded in all of 2023. A large share of these terrorist attacks have taken place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.

Pakistan’s security forces have battled a decades-long insurgency in the southwestern province of Balochistan with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has targeted Punjabi workers, Chinese nationals and hundreds of civilians. In August, at least 73 people were killed in Balochistan province after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways.

(with agency inputs)

Location :

Islamabad, Pakistan