Deadly blast rocks train station in Pakistan, with dozens killed and injured reported
Pakistan faced an explosion at the railway station (photo: Getty Images)
A suicide bomber in Pakistan detonated a vehicle packed with explosives near a railway line, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 70 others, according to The Independent.
Terrorist attack details and aftermath
The outlet reports that the tragedy occurred in the southwest city of Quetta as a passenger train was passing through the station. The explosion was so powerful that two train cars overturned and caught fire, sending thick black smoke into the air.
Nearby buildings also sustained heavy damage, while more than a dozen parked vehicles were completely destroyed.
Local medics said at least 20 of the injured are in critical condition, meaning the death toll could rise. A state of emergency has been declared at hospitals in the city.
Who claimed responsibility
The banned separatist group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Separatists, who seek independence for the region from Pakistan's central government, said their target was a train carrying Pakistani security personnel.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the tragedy, calling it a "cowardly act of terrorism." Authorities in Balochistan province have launched an investigation and vowed to bring all those responsible to justice.
Accusations against India
Balochistan province, whose capital is Quetta, is rich in oil and mineral resources but has long remained a center of insurgent activity. Militants regularly attack civilians, government facilities, and security forces.
Pakistani authorities have repeatedly accused India of supporting the BLA in an effort to destabilize the country.
New Delhi has rejected the accusations. Relations between the two nuclear-armed states remain tense due to the long-running territorial dispute over Kashmir.
Indian-Pakistani conflict
Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad sharply deteriorated in late April 2025 after militants opened fire on a group of tourists in the Indian-controlled part of the disputed Kashmir region.
The attack became the deadliest in recent years, killing more than 20 people. Following the incident, India threatened Pakistan with ending the ceasefire agreement, while the first clashes erupted along the shared border between the two nuclear powers.
The situation later escalated into full military readiness. New Delhi granted its military command full decision-making freedom. In turn, Pakistan warned that India was preparing for military aggression.
Islamabad also claimed to possess credible intelligence on the matter, pushing the situation between the two countries to the brink of war.
