Soldiers Among 25 Killed in Pakistan Station Attack

The death toll from an explosion at Quetta railway station in southwestern Pakistan has risen to 25, including 14 soldiers, police officials said.

"Fourteen members of the army are among the 25 confirmed dead," local police chief Mohammed Baloch told reporters in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

More than an hour after the blast, the provincial hospital was still receiving bodies, including soldiers and railway workers, and the wounded, some of whom are in critical condition.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying a suicide bomber targeted troops at the province's main railway station. The claim is being investigated by authorities.

According to Hamza Shafqaat, a senior government official, the attack occurred as about 100 passengers were waiting for a train from Quetta to Rawalpindi in Punjab province.

However, Pakistan's prime minister has condemned the attack, saying that those responsible "will pay a heavy price".

Shehbaz Sharif noted that the security forces are determined to eliminate "the threat of terrorism".

Balochistan, rich in oil and minerals, is Pakistan's largest province but also its least populated. It is also home to the Baloch ethnic minority, which complains of discrimination and exploitation by the central government.

The BLA frequently targets security forces and foreigners, especially Chinese nationals who are in Pakistan as part of Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative, which is building major infrastructure projects.