Powerful bomb explodes near railway track in Quetta

The force of Sunday’s explosion caused two of the train carriages to overturn and catch fire, sending thick black smoke into the air, according to footage shared online.

The attack took place in an area where security forces are usually stationed, severely damaging several nearby buildings and destroying more than a dozen vehicles parked along the road, according to witnesses and images circulating on social media.

Doctors at local hospitals said they had received the injured, with 20 of them in critical condition.

Three security officials told The Associated Press that at least 16 bodies were taken to hospitals after the attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to speak to the media.

The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which demands independence from Pakistan’s central government, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to reporters. The militant group said it targeted a train carrying security personnel.

Quetta is the capital of the insurgent-hit province of Balochistan. The oil and mineral-rich region has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency.

The insurgents often target security forces, government installations and civilians in the province and elsewhere in the country.

“We strongly condemn the targeting of innocent civilians and are deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives. Terrorist elements deserve no leniency,” said Shahid Rind, spokesperson for the Balochistan provincial government.

He said a medical emergency has been declared at hospitals in Quetta following the explosion and an investigation has been launched.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly act of terror” in a post on

Balochistan Prime Minister Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the attack in Quetta, saying the militants targeted “innocent civilians, including women and children”, vowing to “hunt them down” in a post on X.

Bugti and the federal government in Islamabad often use the phrase “Fitna al-Hindustan” to refer to the BLA, which they say is backed by India. New Delhi denies the accusation.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari denounced the bombings, saying militants and their supporters were trying to undermine Pakistan’s role in regional and international peace efforts.

The attack came a day after Pakistan said the United States and Iran were close to reaching a memorandum of understanding to end the war in the Middle East that began on February 28 after the US and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic, disrupting global travel and sending oil prices soaring.

US President Donald Trump had said a deal on the conflict was “largely negotiated” after calls with regional allies including Pakistan.

Zardari vowed in a statement that his country will defeat “terrorists, their enablers, financiers and those who provide them with safe havens.”

Pakistan and India have long had tense relations and have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety.

Although Pakistani authorities say they have suppressed the uprising, violence continues in Baluchistan.

At least 26 people, including soldiers, were killed in 2024 when a suicide bomber attacked a train station in Balochistan.

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