Suicide bombing at train station in southwestern Pakistan brings death toll to 24: NPR

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up at a train station in restive southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including security officers, and wounding about 50 others, some seriously, officials said.

Hamza Shafqaat, a senior government official, said the attack occurred as nearly 100 passengers were waiting for a train bound for the garrison city of Rawalpindi from Quetta, the capital of restive Balochistan province.

A separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, claimed in a statement that a suicide bomber had attacked troops at the train station. The outlawed BLA has long waged an insurgency seeking independence from Islamabad.

According to the police, around a dozen security forces were among the dead.

Television footage showed the steel structure of the platform roof being torn apart and a tea room being destroyed because luggage was left lying around.

Ayesha Faiz, a Quetta police officer, said some of the seriously injured passengers died at a hospital, adding to the death toll.

Shahid Rind, a government spokesman, said all the wounded had been taken to hospitals for treatment.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing in a statement, saying those who staged the attack would “pay a very heavy price,” adding that security forces were determined to eliminate “the threat of terrorism.”

The attack came just over a week after a powerful bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded near a vehicle carrying police officers deployed to protect polio workers in Balochistan, killing nine people, including five children who were nearby.

Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but also most sparsely populated province. It is also a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government. In addition to separatist groups, militant Islamists also operate in the province.

BLA often targets security forces and foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals, who are in Pakistan as part of Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which builds major infrastructure projects. The group frequently calls for a halt to all Chinese-funded projects and for workers to leave Pakistan to avoid further attacks.

Last month, the BLA claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a convoy carrying Chinese nationals outside Karachi airport that killed two people. Since then, Beijing has asked Pakistan to ensure the safety of its citizens working on several projects in Balochistan and other parts of the country.