QUETTA: A train service between the southwestern city of Quetta and Peshawar in Pakistan’s northwest resumed on Friday after being shut for four days following a deadly bombing at a railway station.
At least 24 people were killed and more than 40 injured in a bomb blast on Saturday at a railway station in the city of Quetta in the province of Balochistan, which is grappling with a surge in strikes by separatist ethnic militants that has raised security concerns for projects aiming to develop the province’s untapped mineral resources.
Imran Hayat, Divisional Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Quetta Division, said train operations from Balochistan to the rest of the country had been restored, with the Quetta-Peshawar bound Jaffar Express departing from Quetta Railway Station on Friday morning amid tight security at the railway station.
“We had suspended our service for four days following the threat of attacks on the train service in Balochistan,” Hayat told Arab News.
“Today, the Quetta-Peshawar bound Jaffar Express departed from Quetta Railway Station at 9am and we have resumed service for Karachi and Chaman amid stringent security measures across the railway station.”
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group, claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack.
The BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, a province of about 15 million people that borders Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west. The BLA is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups battling the government, saying it unfairly exploits the province’s rich gas and mineral resources. The government denies this.
In August, over 50 people were killed in Balochistan after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways.
The assaults in August were the most widespread in years by militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession for the province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine.
Pakistan restores train service from restive Balochistan province after bombing at train station
https://arab.news/432zh
Pakistan restores train service from restive Balochistan province after bombing at train station
- At least 24 people were killed in a bomb blast on Saturday at a railway station in the city of Quetta
- In August, over 50 people were killed in Balochistan in militants attacks on police stations, railway lines, highways.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz among nominees for ICC’s Player of the Month award
- Nawaz scored 104 runs in ODIs and took four wickets and made 52 runs in T20Is and took 11 wickets
- South Africa’s Simon Harmer and Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam are other two nominees for the award
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz is among three of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) nominees for the Player of the Month for November award for his impressive white-ball performances last month, the global cricket body announced on Friday.
Nawaz has been in sublime form for Pakistan, instrumental in the Green Shirts’ tri-series win over Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at home last month.
He amassed 104 ODI runs at an average of 52 with a strike rate of 114.28, while also taking four wickets. In T20Is, the left-arm spinner added 52 runs and claimed an impressive 11 wickets at just 12.72 last month.
“His match-winning 3-17 in the final against Sri Lanka capped a standout campaign and secured his Player of the Series honor,” the ICC said.
South Africa’s Simon Harmer and Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam were the other nominees for the award. Harmer claimed a staggering 17 wickets at an average of 8.94 across the two tests against India in Kolkata and Guwahati.
Meanwhile, Islam picked up 13 wickets at 26.30 in the 2-0 series win over Ireland last month, finishing as the leading wicket-taker of the series.
