A massive bomb tore through a packed passenger train at Quetta’s Chaman Phatak station as it traveled through the city early on Sunday morning. Local health officials confirmed the explosion killed at least 20 people and left 70 others with horrific injuries across the blast site. Most died instantly.
Railway staff told the press that three coaches and the heavy engine were thrown from the tracks by the sheer force of the explosion. Two of those carriages overturned and trapped several passengers inside the mangled steel while rescuers struggled to reach them in the smoke. It was total chaos.
The shuttle service was carrying military personnel and their families back home to their villages for the upcoming Eid holiday celebrations this week. They were traveling from a nearby army camp toward the main station in the city to catch longer trains to Peshawar. But they never arrived.
The Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that a suicide bomber carried out the strike against the military targets. And police officers in the region have not yet confirmed if a bomber was actually on the tracks or if a device was planted. They are still searching.
Naseer Ahmed lives in a small house right next to the railway line and said the sound was deafening when it hit his home. He told reporters the blast shattered every window in his house and woke his family who were still asleep on the floor. "The train was moving," Ahmed said.
Images from the site show black smoke rising over the twisted metal of the passenger cars and several destroyed vehicles parked nearby. A large building standing next to the tracks also suffered heavy damage from the pressure of the bomb as it ripped through the area. It looks like war.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and said such acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan today. He added that the entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan during this terrible hour of grief and loss. Yet the fear remains.
Doctors at local hospitals are now working under emergency rules to save the lives of those who survived the initial blast on Sunday. Many of the 70 injured remain in critical condition and staff fear the death toll will continue to rise throughout the night. Help is coming slowly.
This is not the first time the BLA has struck the rail lines because they also hijacked a train heading for Peshawar in March 2025. So, the group claims the federal government is stealing minerals from the province while the local people continue to live in deep poverty. They want total control.
Balochistan covers nearly half of the country but is home to only a small fraction of the total population of 240 million people. And it shares a long and volatile border with Iran and Afghanistan which makes the region very difficult for the army to police. Tensions are very high.
Violence between the BLA and the Pakistani army spiked in early February and led to the deaths of 31 civilians in the region. Security forces have increased their presence at all major stations, but they cannot protect every mile of the track from these attacks. The war continues.
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