At least 20 people were killed, and over 30 others injured in an explosion at Quetta Railway Station in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Saturday. The blast occurred as a train was preparing to depart for Peshawar, according to Pakistan’s Dawn News.
Mohammad Baloch, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations in Quetta, stated that the explosion “appears to be a suicide blast,” though it was too early to confirm the exact cause. An investigation is underway to determine the nature of the blast. Baloch also noted that about 100 people were present at the site at the time of the explosion, based on footage he had seen.
The bomb went off as passengers were waiting for a train bound for Rawalpindi, a garrison city, from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind confirmed that police and security forces had arrived at the scene, with the Bomb Disposal Squad collecting evidence.
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Rind indicated that the death toll might rise as some of the injured were in critical condition. He also confirmed that an emergency had been declared at local hospitals, where medical aid was being provided to the wounded.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, is rich in natural resources but has long been a hotbed of separatist insurgency. Militants, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), have previously targeted foreign-backed energy projects in the region, accusing outsiders of exploiting local resources. The BLA has also claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks against security forces and Pakistanis from other provinces, including a recent attack in August that killed at least 39 people.
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