Powerful blast in Pakistan’s volatile province kills 20, wounds 30

Islamabad, Nov 9, (dpa/GNA) – At least 20 people were killed in south-western Pakistan, after a huge explosion ripped through a crowded railway station, in what appears to be a suicide attack amid a surge in violence, officials said on Saturday.

The bombing in Quetta, the capital city of the country’s most volatile province of Balochistan, left more than 30 people wounded. The number of dead is expected to increase, with many in critical condition.

Hundreds of passengers were waiting at the platform, when the explosion took place in the morning.

Images on social media showed the damaged platform, with its roof torn apart by the powerful blast.

“Initial findings suggest that it was a suicide attack,” Azam Baloch, a local police official told dpa.

However, he said the police were collecting evidence, and started investigating the incident.

An emergency has been imposed in the city’s hospitals, said Shahid Rind, spokesperson for the Balochistan government.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group of ethnic Baloch guerillas that is fighting for independence from Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last month, the outlawed group targeted and killed two Chinese engineers in Karachi, and 20 miners in a separate attack.

Much of the violence is seen against Chinese projects in Pakistan, to connect China’s Xinjiang region with the Arabian Sea, to reach markets in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and beyond.

Baloch militant and political groups, accused China of stealing their land and resources, including several hundred kilometres of shoreline.

GNA