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.
Saudi charity KSrelief distributes 4,000 winter kits in northwest Pakistan
- The charity will distribute around 800 kits each in five districts, containing two quilts and winter clothing
- The program is part of a broader winterization initiative to help communities affected by harsh weather
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) on Friday said it had started distributing 4,000 winter kits in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to help communities affected by harsh weather.
The program is part of KSrelief’s larger winterization initiative that was launched at the Saudi embassy in Islamabad earlier in January. Under the broader initiative, 22,000 winter kits will be distributed among more than 154,000 Pakistanis across the country.
Each winter kit includes two polyester quilts, warm shawls and winter clothing. Around 800 kits will be distributed in each of the Chitral, Upper Dir, Upper Kohistan, Mansehra and Kurram districts.
"The initiative targets communities severely impacted by harsh winter conditions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as well as selected areas of Punjab and Sindh experiencing extremely low temperatures," KSrelief said in a statement.
The project is being carried out in close collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority, provincial disaster management authorities, the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Hayat Foundation.
The statement said the initiative reaffirms KSrelief's continued commitment to alleviating winter-related hardships and improving the living conditions of vulnerable populations across Pakistan.
The Saudi charity has launched numerous projects across Pakistan in food security, health, education and disaster response in recent years, deepening the bonds of friendship and brotherhood between the two countries.
