QUETTA/ISLAMABAD: At least 14 people, including three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were martyred and more than two dozen others were injured in a powerful suicide vehicle bombing near the Chaman Phatak in Quetta on Sunday, officials said.
The blast targeted a train shuttle service near the railway track, causing widespread destruction in the surrounding area. According to officials, the explosion derailed three coaches of a passing train, while two of them overturned. A nearby private parking area also caught fire, destroying more than 30 vehicles.
Women, children, passengers, pedestrians and nearby residents were among the victims.
Officials confirmed that four members of a single family — father, mother, son and daughter — were also martyred in the attack.
The explosion damaged nearby homes, shops and buildings, shattering windows and spreading panic across the provincial capital.
Police, Frontier Corps personnel, bomb disposal squads, rescue teams and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site soon after the blast. The area was cordoned off while the injured and bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital, Sandeman Hospital and other medical facilities in Quetta.
The Balochistan government imposed an emergency in major hospitals, summoning doctors, paramedical staff and emergency medical teams to deal with the situation.
Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind confirmed the death toll and said the terrorists had deliberately targeted innocent civilians. He added that investigations, evidence collection, and forensic examinations were underway.
Following the attack, the Jaffar Express train from Quetta to Peshawar was cancelled, while railway authorities dispatched rescue and relief teams to the site.
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti chaired a high-level security meeting in Quetta to review the law & order situation and assess the initial investigation report presented by the IG Police, Balochistan.
Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, saying the federal government stood with the people of Balochistan during this difficult time. Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti termed the attack an act of barbarity and vowed that terrorists and their facilitators would be brought to justice.
President Zardari strongly condemned the Quetta terrorist attack and vowed decisive defeat of perpetrators and their networks. He expressed deep grief over the loss of innocent lives and said such acts of terrorism are aimed at harming the people of Pakistan and diverting attention from the country’s efforts for global peace. “The elements hostile to Pakistan are attempting to undermine our initiatives that serve broader humanitarian objectives, global peace and progress,” he said according to a statement issued by the President House on Sunday.
President Asif Ali Zardari stated that terrorists and their patrons are also seeking to disrupt Pakistan’s focus on stability and development. He said there should be no doubt that Pakistan will defeat terrorists, their facilitators, financiers and those providing them safe havens. The president stated that Pakistan will neither forget nor forgive the terrorists and their patrons.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist incident in Quetta and expressed deep grief over the loss of innocent lives. “Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan. We remain steadfast in our determination to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the prime minister said in a post on X. He also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of victims and prayed for the swift recovery of injured. “The entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan in this hour of grief,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari strongly condemned the terrorist bomb blast on a railway track in Quetta and expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious human lives. In a statement, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari prayed for the early recovery of those injured in the explosion and said terrorists targeting innocent civilians and public installations were enemies of humanity and peace.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram expressed profound grief and sorrow over the suicide attack on a train near Chaman Phatak, calling it a total failure of the federal and provincial governments’ security apparatus. He reiterated that the fight against terrorism requires national unity, genuine political will and competent security management not empty rhetoric.
Reacting to the incident, he said that his party extends its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of martyrs, including the tragic loss of innocent civilians such as Khalid Javed, his wife, their 13-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, who were killed in the vicinity of the blast. “The party prays for the swift recovery of all those injured,” he said.
Federal Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi also condemned the blast, describing it as a cowardly act of terrorism aimed at destabilising the country.
Other political leaders, including National Party leader Mir Rehmat Saleh Baloch and MPA Mir Jahanzeb Mengal, strongly condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
Meanwhile, foreign missions in Pakistan denounced the train attack in Quetta and reaffirmed their support for Pakistan’s fight against terrorism.
In a message on X (formerly Twitter), the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad strongly condemned the terrorist attack, extended deep condolences to the deceased victims and sincere sympathies to bereaved families, and wished for the early recovery of injured. The embassy said China firmly opposed any form of terrorism and would, as always, support Pakistan in combating terrorism and protecting the safety of the people. “We stand firmly with our Pakistani brothers and sisters at this moment,” it said.
The Russian embassy also condemned the attack, expressing the hope that the perpetrators will be identified and brought to justice. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims and wish all those injured a speedy recovery,” the embassy said in a post on X.
British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said she was absolutely appalled by the cowardly terrorist attack on a train in Quetta. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the martyrs and their families,” she noted in a X message.
Also, Iranian Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam denounced the “the cowardly and heinous suicide terrorist act on behalf of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and myself, categorically and with the strongest words”.
In a message on X, he said terrorism was a condemnable phenomenon in all its forms all over the world. He expressed heartfelt and sincere condolences to the government and people of Pakistan, especially to the bereaved families who lost loved ones, while praying for the safe and speedy recovery of the injured.
Also, the German Consulate General in Karachi said it was horrified to hear of the passenger train blast near Chaman Phatak in Quetta, Balochistan, and strongly condemned the heinous attack. “Our heartfelt condolences are with the families and loved ones of the victims, and we wish a swift and full recovery to those injured,” it said in a message on X.
The Turkish Embassy in Islamabad also condemned the attack and said Turkiye stood shoulder to shoulder with brotherly Pakistan in its fight against terrorism. “At a time when Pakistan is making determined efforts for peace and dialogue in the region, the heinous terrorist attack in Quetta stands beyond condemnation,” the embassy said in a message on X. It prayed to the Almighty Allah to “grant His mercy upon those who lost their lives and give strength and patience to their families and to the brotherly people of Pakistan”.
Australian High Commissioner Timothy Kane said he was deeply saddened by the Quetta attack. “Australia stands with the people of Pakistan at this difficult time. We extend heartfelt condolences to those who lost loved ones and wish a full and swift recovery to those who were injured,” he said in a X post.
