The powerful explosion that rocked the area on Sunday resulted in two train cars being overturned and engulfed in flames, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky, according to videos posted online.
The blast struck a location typically staffed by security personnel, causing significant damage to nearby structures and leaving more than a dozen vehicles along the roadside battered, as reported by eyewitnesses and visible in images shared across social media platforms.
Medical professionals at local hospitals reported receiving numerous injured individuals, with 20 of them in critical condition.
According to three security officials, who spoke to The Associated Press under the condition of anonymity, at least 16 bodies were taken to hospitals in the aftermath of the attack.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a banned militant group seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government, has claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement issued to the press, the BLA stated that the target was a train carrying security personnel.
Quetta is the capital of insurgency-hit Balochistan province. The oil- and mineral-rich region has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency.
The insurgents have frequently targeted 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 human lives. Terrorist elements deserve no leniency,” said Shahid Rind, Balochistan provincial government spokesman.
He said following the explosion, a medical emergency was declared at hospitals in Quetta, and an investigation has been launched.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly act of terrorism” in a post on X and offering condolences to the families of the victims.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the attack in Quetta, saying the militants targeted “innocent civilians, including women and children”, vowing in a post on X to “hunt (them down)”.
Bugti and the federal government in Islamabad often use the phrase “Fitna al-Hindustan” to refer to the BLA, which they allege is backed by India. New Delhi denies the allegation.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari denounced the bombing, saying militants and their backers sought 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, upending global travel and spiking oil prices.
US President Donald Trump had said a deal related to the conflict had been “largely negotiated” following calls with regional allies, including Pakistan.
Zardari promised in a statement that his country “will defeat terrorists, their facilitators, financiers and those providing them safe havens”.
Pakistan and India have long had strained relations and have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is claimed by both in its entirety.
Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence in Baluchistan has persisted.
At least 26 people, including soldiers, were killed in 2024 when a suicide bomber attacked a train station in Balochistan.
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