Suicide attack on Pakistani railway station
ISLAMABAD (EFE).- At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in a suicide attack this Saturday at a railway station in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s violent province of Balochistan, police reported today.
The blast targeted a busy booking office, causing widespread panic and destruction.
“The blast took place inside the railway station when a Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination,” Senior Superintendent of Operations, Quetta Police, Muhammad Baloch said in a media statement.
Authorities have confirmed that it was a suicide bomber.
Municipal Commissioner Hamza Shafqat confirmed in a statement to the press that the blast was suicidal in nature. According to Shafqat, the suicide bomber entered the station carrying the luggage.
Security circuit images broadcast by local television channels, and which reportedly correspond to the moment of the attack, show dozens of people waiting on the platform before the explosion.
The commissioner also confirmed that law enforcement personnel were among those killed in the attack. The blast occurred when infantry members of the Pakistani Army were returning from a training course.
The city of Quetta, where the attack took place, belongs to Balochistan province, which has seen a sharp increase in violence along with the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan.
Pakistani news channel Geo News quoted police sources as indicating that since many of the injured were in critical condition, the death toll from the blast could rise.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind assured the same medium that although there was no direct threat regarding this attack, there is a general threat to security due to attacks by insurgent groups in the province.
BLA group has claimed responsibility for the attack
The separatist armed group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.
The BLA is a Baloch nationalist group fighting against Islamabad for an independent Balochistan. In a statement released on social networks, he said that they targeted members of the army present at the station.
The attack comes just a week after another blast near a school and hospital in another town in Balochistan in which eight people, including five children, were killed.
The group has accused the Pakistani state of committing atrocities against the Baloch people and argued that the region’s natural resources, such as gas and oil, are exploited for the benefit of other parts of the country, without providing fair compensation to the people of Balochistan.
Despite efforts by the Pakistani military to suppress the insurgency, the BLA and other terrorist groups have continued to carry out attacks, demonstrating their ability to operate in remote areas.
an area in conflict
Violence has intensified in Balochistan in recent years, with frequent clashes between Pakistani security forces and separatist groups demanding greater autonomy for the province.
Baloch nationalists argue that the region’s natural resources, such as gas and oil, are exploited for the benefit of other parts of the country, with the people of Balochistan not receiving fair compensation.
The conflict has resulted in many deaths and deep instability in the region. Pakistani authorities have launched a search operation to find those responsible for the attack.