QUETTA: At least 24 people were killed and 50 injured in a bomb blast at a railway station in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials said on Saturday, with a separatist group claiming the attack and saying the target was Pakistani army troops.
The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group, the most prominent of militant groups in Balochistan, took responsibility for the attack, the deadliest since a string of coordinated attacks on Aug. 25-26 in which more than 50 people, civilians and security officials, were killed.
In a statement shared with media, the BLA said its suicide unit, the Majeed Brigade, had carried out the bombing to target a “Pakistani army unit” returning via train after completing a course at an infantry school. The claim has not yet been confirmed by the Pakistani military.
The surge in deadly attacks in Balochistan indicates the BLA, which has targeted security forces for years in small-scale attacks and is allied with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), could be much more organized.
“Twenty-four people have been killed in the suicide attack and 50 people were injured and have been shifted to various hospitals of Quetta city for treatment,” Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat told Arab News about Saturday’s attack at the railway station.
A top health official in Quetta, who has direct knowledge of the casualties, said at least 13 of the 24 dead were soldiers.
Muhammad Baloch, senior superintendent of police (SSP), said the blast occurred at a time when over 150 passengers were gathered at the station, waiting for the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express train.
“We are investigating whether it was a suicide attack or any explosive device was placed at the platform,” he added.
Balochistan is a resource-rich but impoverished province where separatist militants have been fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the region. Insurgents say they are fighting what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s mineral and gas wealth by the federation at the center.
The Pakistani government and military deny they are exploiting Balochistan and have long maintained that neighbors such as India, Afghanistan and Iran foment trouble in the remote province and support and fund the insurgency there to impede its development potential. Balochistan is home to major China-led investment projects such as a strategic port and a gold and copper mine.
“JUDGMENT DAY”
Following the attack, there was chaos at hospitals in Quetta, as paramedics rushed there with the injured and families arrived to inquire after their loved ones.
Abdul Jabbar, an injured man brought to the Civil Hospital, said it felt like “judgment day” had arrived in Quetta.
“I bought my ticket for Bahawalpur (Punjab) and entered the platform to get on the train,” he told Arab News. “After two minutes of arriving at the platform, the explosion occurred.”
Bilal Safdar, an eyewitness who was standing some 500 meters away from the site of the blast, said he heard a powerful explosion at the platform.
“There was a plume of smoke at the station and people were screaming for help, bodies and injured were strewn around on the ground,” he told Arab News.
The rise of separatist attacks in Balochistan poses a major challenge for the weak coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which is battling an economic crisis and political instability as well as a rise in militant violence by both religiously motivated and separatist groups across the country.
Balochistan is also in the grips of civil rights protests by young ethnic Baloch who are calling for an end to what they describe as a pattern of enforced disappearances and other human rights abuses by security forces, who deny the charge.
On Friday, counterterrorism officials in Balochistan said an armed operation had been launched this week against separatist militants who were behind the August attacks.
“An operation has been launched since the last two days in Duki, Loralai and surrounding districts in which Frontier Corps, CTD, Levies, police and others are taking part,” Counterterrorism Department (CTD) DIG Aitzaz Ahmed Goraya said at a press conference in Quetta.
Separatist group says attack at railway station killing 24 targeted Pakistan’s army
https://arab.news/y84cy
Separatist group says attack at railway station killing 24 targeted Pakistan’s army
- Pakistani military has not yet confirmed this, but a top official with direct knowledge of casualties said at least 13 of the dead were soldiers
- The is the deadliest attack in Pakistan’s Balochistan since a string of coordinated attacks on Aug. 25-26 in which over 50 people were killed
IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan
- Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
- Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.
The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.
Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.
The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.
“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.
But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.
The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.
The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.
Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.
Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.
The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.
The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.
