The attack was claimed by the so-called Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), one of the main separatist groups in Balochistan.
At least 26 people, including 14, were killed this Saturday (9) in an attack by a separatist group in the southwestern province of Balochistan, according to authorities. The explosive attack occurred in the morning at the central station of Quetta, capital of the region that borders Afghanistan and Iran, on a platform where many passengers were waiting to be taken. “Fourteen members of the Armed Forces and 12 civilians died,” said Wasim Baig, spokesman for the Sandeman provincial hospital in Quetta, increasing the previous death toll of 25 released by police. Another 46 members of the security forces and 14 civilians were injured, the spokesman said.
An AFP reporter saw pools of blood at the station, where a metal covering put in place to protect passengers from the rain was completely torn away by the explosion. Mohamed Umer, one of the injured, said he was preparing to catch a train back to his village when he was hit by the explosion. “As soon as we arrived, there was an explosion and I found myself injured and hospitalized,” he told AFP. The attack was claimed by the so-called Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), one of the main separatist groups in Balochistan. In a statement, the BLA claimed to have targeted “a Pakistani Army unit returning to [região de] Punjab and passed through the station after training at the infantry school.”
Police are investigating and have not ruled out the possibility of a suicide attack. “At first we thought it was an explosive device hidden in an abandoned suitcase, but now we think it could have been a suicide bombing,” said Mohammed Baloch, a local police officer. The official APP news agency reported that two trains were about to leave when the explosion occurred near a ticket office. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the attackers “will pay a heavy price”.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province but also its poorest, despite its significant mineral and gas resources, which the region’s separatists claim control over. The BLA regularly carries out deadly attacks on police forces and Pakistanis in other provinces. At the end of August, he claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks involving dozens of attackers that left at least 39 people dead, one of the worst cases in the region.
Published by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from AFP
