Islamabad: At least 30 people were martyred, and over 50 others sustained injuries in an explosion on the railway track near the Chaman Phatak area of Quetta on Sunday.
According to police sources, the blast occurred near Chaman Phatak when a train carrying passengers was crossing the area. The people on the train were going to their areas to celebrate Eid holidays, sources said.
As a result at least 30 people were martyred, and over 50 others, including children and women, suffered injuries. The bodies and the injured have been shifted to Civil and other Hospitals of Quetta. Eight dead bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Queeta.
10 vehicles parked along the track were damaged as a result of the explosion. Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) reached the site, cordoned off the entire area, and started an investigation. The impact of the explosion shattered the windows and glass panels of nearby buildings.
Following the incident, an emergency was declared in government hospitals across Quetta, with doctors and medical staff summoned to handle the situation.
Railway authorities said the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express was stopped at Quetta Railway Station after the blast as a precautionary measure.
Babar Yousafzai, the spokesperson to the home minister, said that all relevant institutions have been placed on high alert following an explosion in the city.
He urged the public not to gather near the blast site to ensure safety and allow emergency teams to carry out rescue operations without obstruction.
Meanwhile in a statement President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the terrorist incident in Quetta and expressed deep grief over the loss of innocent lives. He 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 President said elements hostile to Pakistan are attempting to undermine our initiatives that serve broader humanitarian objectives, global peace and progress. He 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. He added that the country will also thwart every conspiracy against peace, stability and national security.
The President stated that Pakistan will neither forget nor forgive the terrorists and their patrons. He said the blood of martyrs will not go in vain and every drop of their blood will be accounted for.
He urged the world to recognise the true face of terrorists and their patrons who are attempting, unsuccessfully, to derail Pakistan's global peace efforts.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the heinous bomb explosion near Chaman Phatak, Quetta, which has resulted in the tragic loss of innocent lives and left many others injured.
In a statement issued on X, PM Shehbaz Sharif said that 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, he said.
'I express my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and pray for the swift recovery of the injured. The entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan in this hour of grief' PM Shehbaz Sharif said.
Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Ahmed Khan Bugti condemned the attack, saying that the "terrorists of Fitna Al-Hindustan are proving their savagery by targeting innocent civilians, women, and children."
He added, "Those who shed the blood of innocent people deserve no leniency."
CM Bugti also issued a warning to terrorist elements in the region, saying "Let the enemy hear this: there will be no safe haven left for terrorists in Balochistan. We will hunt down the terrorists, their facilitators, and their masterminds one by one and bring them to justice, and this war will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated."
Adviser to the Chief Minister of Balochistan Shahid Rind also condemned the attack. "We are deeply saddened and grieved over the loss of precious human lives. Terrorist elements deserve no leniency,' he said.
The adviser noted that CM Bugti is personally monitoring the situation, adding that after the explosion, a medical emergency has been imposed in Quetta's hospitals, with all doctors, paramedical staff, and medical personnel urgently called to duty.
'Investigations have begun, and the involved elements cannot escape the law,' Rind said. He added that the injured are being provided immediate medical assistance and the best treatment facilities.
Railways Minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi also condemned the 'cowardly act of terrorism', adding that it would not weaken the nation's resolve against militancy. In a statement, Abbasi said that 'anti-Pakistan elements operating from India and Afghanistan were sponsoring terrorism to destabilise the country'. The minister directed the authorities concerned to submit an immediate report on the incident. He further reaffirmed that Pakistan Railways' operational activities would continue without interruption despite the attack.
Muhammad Hanif Abbasi said hostile forces were involved in malicious activities aimed at spreading unrest and fear in Pakistan. Slamming terrorists as 'enemies of humanity', the minister asserted they would be 'brought to a disgraceful end'. 'Terrorist networks operating from India and Afghanistan would never be allowed to succeed in their nefarious designs against Pakistan,' Abbasi said.