QUETTA, Pakistan, May 24 (ANI) — At least 24 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a devastating explosion near the Chaman Phatak railway area in Quetta, located in Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan, on Sunday.
Authorities described the attack as a targeted operation that occurred while a train carrying military personnel and their families was passing through the city.
According to officials, the explosion was caused by an explosive-laden vehicle that struck one of the train’s carriages as it passed a signal near Chaman Phatak. The powerful blast caused several coaches to derail and overturned others, Geo News reported.
The explosion occurred shortly after 8 a.m. and derailed three coaches, including the locomotive, while two other coaches overturned, Dawn reported, citing APP.
Reports indicated that the train, identified as the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express, was transporting military personnel and their families traveling for the upcoming Eid holiday.
Following the incident, an emergency was declared at government hospitals across Quetta, with doctors and medical staff called in to manage the situation.
Railway authorities said the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express was halted at Quetta Railway Station after the blast as a precautionary measure, according to Geo News.
Pakistan Railways said the federal minister for railways condemned the Quetta blast in a statement posted on X.
“The incident is cowardly terrorism. Such attacks cannot weaken national resolve. A shuttle train coming from Quetta Cantt was caught in a blast near Chaman Phatak. A rescue truck and relief train have been dispatched to the site for relief operations,” the statement said.
Babar Yousafzai, spokesperson for the home minister, said all relevant institutions had been placed on high alert following the explosion in the city, Geo News reported.
While the death toll currently stands at 24, officials warned that the number could rise as rescue and recovery operations continue. More than 50 people have been hospitalized, several of them in critical condition.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the attack, stating that “terrorists of Fitna Al-Hindustan” were targeting innocent civilians, including women and children.
In a post on X, Bugti vowed that those responsible for the attack would not be spared and said authorities would pursue the terrorists, their facilitators, and their alleged masterminds.
“I strongly condemn the terrorist incident near Chaman Phatak in Quetta. The terrorists of Fitna Al-Hindustan are proving their savagery by targeting innocent civilians, women, and children. Those who shed the blood of innocent people deserve no leniency,” he wrote.
“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 added. (ANI)
About The Author
