Blast on train in Pakistan kills dozens of people

A powerful blast struck a train carrying military personnel in Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan, killing at least 24 people, according to a senior official.

Among the dead were army servicemen in the provincial capital of Quetta, where the attack also left more than 50 people wounded, the official told AFP.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing, which Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced as a “cowardly” act of terrorism.

Images from the scene showed a shattered train carriage toppled onto its side as rescuers and bystanders climbed through the wreckage in a desperate search for survivors.

The local official told AFP that the train, carrying army personnel and their family members, was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar in Pakistan’s northwest.

As it passed a signal at Chaman Pattak in Quetta, “an explosive-laden car hit one of the carriages that resulted in a big blast”, the official said.

The force of the explosion blew out windows and wrecked nearby vehicles.

Another official told AFP that the army personnel had been heading home to celebrate the Eid holiday, which is due to begin on Tuesday.

‘Running for shelter’

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area and its poorest, trails much of the country on nearly every major measure, from education and employment to broader economic development.

Baloch separatists say the Pakistani government has long exploited the province’s natural gas and rich mineral reserves without fairly sharing the benefits with local people.

A police official said the improvised explosive device used in the attack weighed about 35kg.

Police and security agencies were investigating the bombing, the official added.

The BLA, the most active separatist militant group in the province, claimed the assault in a statement sent to AFP.

The group, which the United States has designated a terrorist organisation, said it had also targeted military installations, along with police and civil administration officials, in gun attacks and suicide bombings.

In recent years, the BLA has stepped up attacks on Pakistanis from other provinces working in the region, as well as on foreign energy firms.

Last year, separatists attacked a train carrying 450 passengers, triggering a deadly siege that lasted two days.

Mr Sharif condemned the “heinous bomb explosion… which has resulted in the tragic loss of innocent lives and left many others injured”.

“Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan,” he said.

“I express my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and pray for the swift recovery of the injured.”