Authorities say at least 25 people have died after a bomb exploded at a railway station in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Scores of others were injured in the blast, which occurred as the popular morning train was about to leave Quetta station in southwest Pakistan for Peshawar.
A terrorist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the blast in what police are treating as a suicide attack.
There has been a recent spate of deadly attacks in the province, fueled by demands for autonomy and control of local resources.
The Commissioner of this city said that at least 25 people died, including a suicide bomber, and around 50 others were injured in the explosion.
Police chief Muhammad Baloch said that the explosion was thought to have been caused by a car carrying 6-8kg of explosives. Among the dead and wounded were soldiers and soldiers, he told the BBC.
Videos shared on social media appear to show when the explosion occurred on Saturday morning, a large number of people were seen on the platform.
There are also pictures being circulated of the results showing a number of injured people and debris strewn around the station.
Abdul Jabbar was among the injured who were brought to the Civil Hospital. He said he was entering the station, having bought a ticket at the booking office, when the explosion happened.
“I cannot describe the fear I faced today, it was as if the day of judgment had arrived,” he said.
Muhammad Sohail arrived immediately after the blast to catch his train to Multan.
“Everything in the station was destroyed, people were lying on the ground crying for help,” he said.
A separate militant group, the Baloch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement released on social media, the group said it was targeting a Pakistani military unit that was returning from Quetta after completing a training course.
The chief minister of Balochistan termed the act as deplorable and the perpetrators “worse than animals”. He said the authorities will follow them and “bring them to their logical conclusion”.
The Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, condemned the blast, saying those who did it were “enemies of humanity”.
Balochistan is the largest province in Pakistan and is rich in natural resources, but underdeveloped.
The region shares volatile borders with Iran and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and has a large coastline along the Arabian Sea.
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