train services will be suspended for 4 days after bomb blast at quetta railway station

Pakistan Railways suspended all train services to and from the restive southwestern province, where a suicide bombing at a railway station killed 27 people, including soldiers and railway staff. According to a statement from Pakistan Railways, train services will remain suspended for four days due to security reasons. The attack, claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army, took place on Saturday at the station in Quetta city, the capital of Balochistan province. Officials said at least 62 people were also injured in the bombing. The provincial government also declared three days of mourning in solidarity with the families of the victims, according to the province’s Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, saying security had been beefed up and vowing to retaliate with full force against the separatists. .

Bugti spoke after meeting Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who visited Quetta on Sunday to inquire about the situation. Naqvi’s office said in a statement that authorities will take decisive action to crush terrorists and support the local Balochistan government in tackling the scourge of terrorism. Train services are a major part of the economy of Balochistan. Every day hundreds of people travel from Quetta to other parts of the country. Trains also transport food and other goods.

Police had said Saturday’s attack took place when about 100 passengers were waiting for a train to leave Quetta station for the garrison town of Rawalpindi. In its claim of responsibility, the separatist BLA said it targeted Pakistani soldiers.