AT LEAST 24 people were killed and 46 others injured on Saturday in a powerful bomb explosion at a crowded railway station in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, officials said.
The explosion ripped through the provincial capital Quetta's railway station as passengers gathered on the platform before the scheduled departure of the Jaffar Express to Peshawar.
Quetta Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Operations Muhammad Baloch said initial findings point to a possible suicide bombing.
He also confirmed that 24 people were killed in the explosion, adding that the number of victims could rise. Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Preliminary reports indicate that the explosion took place at the railway station's booking office.
Rescue and law enforcement teams responded immediately, securing the area and transporting the injured and deceased to Civil Hospital Quetta, according to the provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind.
An emergency was declared at the hospital where additional medical staff was summoned to deal with the injured, where officials said that 46 injured have been shifted so far.
The blast, which also damaged the platform's roof, was heard far and wide in various areas of the city.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the attack, terming it as "a horrific act targeting innocent civilians", and ordered an immediate investigation.
He said that terrorists are increasingly aiming civilians, labourers, women, and children, and vowed that those responsible would be pursued relentlessly.
Pakistan is grappling with a surge in strikes by separatist ethnic militants in Balochistan province in the south and Islamist militants in its northwest.
A decades-old insurgency has destabilised Balochistan and created security concerns for projects trying to access the province's untapped resources.
In August, at least 73 people were killed in Balochistan province after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways.
The assaults in August were the most widespread in years by militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich southwestern province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine. (Agencies)
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