Pakistan: 24 killed, over 50 injured in Quetta railway station blast

At least 24 people were killed and 46 injured on Saturday after a suicide blast ripped through a Quetta Railway Station, an official said.The incident comes a week after a bomb blast near a girl’s school and a hospital in Balochistan’s Mastung district killed eight people, including five children.Pakistan, particularly the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, has seen a sharp uptick in terrorism-related incidents over the past year.Quetta Division Commissioner Hamza Shafqat confirmed the death toll, adding that the incident was a suicide blast.

He further said that the administration was writing a letter to the railway authorities to suspend train services.The banned militant group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the blast, the Dawn news reported.

Pakistan Railways had previously announced the restoration of train services between Quetta and Peshawar from Oct 11, after a suspension of more than a month and a half, according to media reports.Train services had been suspended across the country on August 26 after a key railway bridge between Kolpur and Mach was destroyed in a blast carried out by BLA as part of province-wide coordinated attacks.

Earlier, Quetta Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Mohammad Baloch told media that “around 100 people” were present at the site, according to footage seen by him.He added that at the time of the blast, a Jaffar Express train was reportedly ready to depart from the platform for Peshawar.

Police and security forces had reached the site of the incident, according to a statement by Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind.An emergency was imposed in hospitals there, the government official stated, adding that the “injured were being provided with medical aid”.Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the incident, saying it was a “continuation of targeting innocent people”.

In 2023, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations. Overall fatalities, including those of outlaws, mark a record six-year high.Terror attacks declined by 24 per cent in September compared to August, but they witnessed surges in August and July, according to monthly security reports.On September 25, at least two policemen were among a dozen people injured by a bomb attack that targeted a police vehicle in Quetta..(UNI)<>