QUETTA: At least 14 people were killed and 20 others were injured after a blast caused by a vehicle-borne suicide bombing tore through a shuttle train in Quetta on Sunday morning, the Balochistan government said.
Hours after the blast, the provincial government said in a statement it was confirming with “profound grief and deep concern” that a train shuttle service near Chaman Phatak in Quetta was targeted in a vehicle-borne suicide bombing.
“This cowardly act of terrorism is not only an attack on innocent human lives but also a heinous attempt to undermine peace, stability, and normal civic life in Balochistan,” the statement said.
Citing initial reports, it added that “14 people embraced martyrdom while 20 others sustained injuries, including women and children”.
“Among the martyrs were three personnel of the Frontier Corps, while the majority of victims were civilians, including pedestrians, passengers, bystanders, and residents living in houses adjacent to the blast site.
“Tragically, an entire family of four — father, mother, son, and daughter — lost their lives in this heartbreaking incident, leaving the entire province in mourning.”
According to the statement, the provincial government initiated emergency response measures “immediately after the incident”.
Meanwhile, an “emergency has been declared in all major government hospitals in Quetta, while doctors, paramedical staff, and medical personnel has been called in on an urgent basis”.
“All possible medical assistance and the best available treatment are being provided to the injured,” the statement.
It further stated: “In view of prevailing security concerns, Section 144 was already in force in the area, under which law enforcement agencies had been deployed to maintain security and preventive measures.
“Following the blast, the district administration established a central control room at the office of the Quetta deputy commissioner to ensure effective coordination, monitoring, and facilitation of relief operations. In addition, a dedicated monitoring and coordination cell has been activated at the Home Department.”
Earlier, state-run APP, citing railway authorities, said the shuttle train was heading from Quetta Cantonment to the railway station when it was targeted near Chaman Phatak shortly after 8am.
In a statement, Shahid Rind, an aide to the Balochistan chief minister on media and political affairs, said terrorists had targeted innocent civilians in the attack and security forces had cordoned off the area.
Rind said the targeting of public places was a “proof of the terrorists’ confusion”.
“The involved elements cannot escape the law,” Rind said, adding that the injured were being provided the best treatment facilities.
‘I heard screaming and crying’
Meanwhile, the police, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and the bomb disposal squad had reached the incident site to collect evidence.
Pakistan Railways said rescue trucks and a relief train were dispatched to the site to assist in emergency operations.
The explosion derailed three coaches, including the locomotive, while two coaches overturned, APP reported.
The blast was loud enough to be heard in various distant areas of the city and caused damage to nearby buildings. A fire reported to have sparked in nearby cars was controlled after intense efforts involving multiple fire brigade vehicles.
Images showed a mangled train carriage on its side as people clambered over the wreckage to find survivors. People could be seen carrying blood-soaked victims on stretchers away from a derailed car, while armed security forces stood guard.
One video showed about 10 vehicles, mostly small cars, charred as fire and black smoke emerged from some of them. Multiple ambulances could be seen arriving at the site in another video.
Earlier footage showed huge plumes of smoke rising from a raging fire, with at least one train coach turned over at a short distance.
Mohammad Rahim, who was near the site of the attack, told AFP he was sleeping when the explosion ripped through the area.
“My family and I jumped out of our beds when we heard a loud bang,” he said.
“I heard screaming and the crying of women and children in the building, including my family.”
Another witness, Abdul Basit, told AFP he was standing in a queue to buy breakfast when he heard the blast. “People started running for shelter,” he said.
Mujib Ahmad said that his car was damaged in the explosion. “When I heard the blast, I thought that it must be an attack,” he told AFP.
Around noon, a statement said Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti was personally monitoring the situation.
Police chief presents report
Later, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also reached Quetta, where he jointly chaired a meeting with CM Bugti, a statement by the interior ministry said.
According to the statement, the Balochistan police chief presented an initial report of the blast during the meeting.
“The meeting strongly condemned the cowardly attack on innocent people and extended condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,” the statement said.
It added that the federal government “stands with the Balochistan government in this hour of grief”.
The statement termed the targeting of innocent people “savagery”.
It quoted Naqvi as saying that the sacrifices of the martyrs would always be remembered.
Moreover, it quoted CM Bugti as saying: “We are grateful to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. He has stood with Balochistan in every difficult time.”
The statement said he vowed to punish the “terrorists of Fitna-al-Hindustan”. He also said that “we will not leave the families of the martyrs alone”.
Fitna-al-Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balochistan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.
According to the statement, apart from the Balochistan Inspector General, other officers of law enforcement agencies were also present at the meeting.
Condemnations
Denouncing the blast, President Asif Ali Zardari said such acts of terrorism were aimed at harming the people of Pakistan and diverting attention from the country’s efforts for global peace.
“The president said elements hostile to Pakistan are attempting to undermine our initiatives that serve broader humanitarian objectives, global peace and progress,” the presidency said.
He stated that terrorists and their patrons were also “seeking to disrupt Pakistan’s focus on stability and development”.
He said there should be no doubt that Pakistan would defeat terrorists, their facilitators, financiers and those providing them safe havens, adding the country would also thwart every conspiracy against peace, stability and national security.
The president further said Pakistan would neither forget nor forgive the terrorists and their patrons, vowing that every drop of blood of those killed would be accounted for.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also strongly condemned the “heinous bomb explosion”.
“Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan. We remain steadfast in our determination to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he wrote on X.
The premier expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured.
“The entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan in this hour of grief,” he added.
“The terrorists of Fitna al Hindustan are proving their savagery by targeting innocent civilians, women, and children,” Bugti wrote on X, strongly condemning the attack.
“Let the enemy hear this: there will be no safe haven left for terrorists in Balochistan. We will hunt down the terrorists, their facilitators, and their masterminds one by one and bring them to justice, and this war will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated,” Bugti vowed.
Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi also condemned the “cowardly act of terrorism”, adding that it would not weaken the nation’s resolve against militancy.
In a statement, Abbasi said that “anti-Pakistan elements operating from India and Afghanistan were sponsoring terrorism to destabilise the country”.
The minister directed the authorities concerned to submit an immediate report on the incident.
He further reaffirmed that Pakistan Railways’ operational activities would continue without interruption despite the attack.
Abbasi said hostile forces were involved in malicious activities aimed at spreading unrest and fear in Pakistan.
Slamming terrorists as “enemies of humanity”, the minister asserted they would be “brought to a disgraceful end”.
“Terrorist networks operating from India and Afghanistan would never be allowed to succeed in their nefarious designs against Pakistan,” Abbasi said.
Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also condemned the “savage act of terrorism targeting innocent civilians on a shuttle train near Chaman Phatak, Quetta”.
“The tragic explosion has claimed precious lives and left many others injured. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and prayers for the swift recovery of the injured,” he said in a post on X, further paying tribute to the first responders, police, armed forces, and rescue and health personnel for their “courage and efforts in assisting those affected”.
“We stand in complete solidarity with the people of Balochistan at this difficult time. Those responsible for this cowardly attack against innocent civilians will be brought to justice.
“Such heinous acts cannot and will not weaken Pakistan’s resolve to eradicate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the DPM said.
HRCP raises alarm
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was “gravely alarmed” at the security situation across Balochistan after the blast, noting a rise in terrorism incidents, which it said indicated a “dangerous erosion of the state’s writ across large parts of the province”.
In a post on its X account, the commission expressed alarm, stressing that “civilians, workers, passengers, and law enforcement personnel are increasingly vulnerable to violence, abduction, and attacks on public infrastructure” in the province.
The statement maintained that today’s bombing marked a “deeply disturbing acceleration in attacks on civilians in the province”.
“Equally troubling are reports of repeated incidents in Chagai at the Reko Diq site and in Ziarat, where armed groups have allegedly abducted at least 21 civilians, including one police officer, in the last week, and torched vehicles with apparent impunity.
“This follows similar attacks in Noshki and Kalat earlier in May where five workers and five police personnel, respectively, were abducted by armed men,” the statement read.
HRCP termed it unacceptable that civilians and non-combatants be used as “bargaining tools in situations of conflict and insecurity”, calling on the state to ensure civilian protection and accountability for rights abuses by “all actors”.
Additional input from APP, AFP
