At least 14 people were killed on Sunday after an explosion near a passenger train in southwestern Pakistan, local officials said. The attack took place in Balochistan Province—a region gripped by a long-running separatist insurgency.
The blast occurred around 8 a.m. local time near a railway crossing close to the Afghan border. The bomb detonated as a commuter train traveling to Quetta, the provincial capital, was passing through the area.
Authorities said the train was carrying dozens of passengers, including people traveling from a nearby military base. Pakistan’s railways minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi said the explosion was so powerful that the locomotive and at least three carriages derailed, while two coaches overturned.
Many passengers were believed to be traveling to visit their families ahead of Eid al-Adha, which will be celebrated in Pakistan on Wednesday. The train was scheduled to connect with the Jaffer Express—one of the country’s main railway routes stretching roughly 1,600 kilometers and linking Quetta with Pakistan’s largest cities.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said at least 14 deaths had been confirmed so far. Preliminary assessments by police and local authorities suggest the attack may have involved a suicide bomber, though bomb disposal experts have not yet reached final conclusions.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), one of the region’s largest separatist groups, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the assault, calling it “a cowardly terrorist act.”
“We remain steadfast in our determination to eradicate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said.
Rescue workers and security forces continued clearing debris with heavy machinery in an effort to find survivors who may still have been trapped inside the damaged coaches.
Local residents also reported damage to nearby homes and fires affecting several vehicles.
“I woke up to the sound of the explosion,” said 27-year-old student Feroz Baloch, who lives about 25 kilometers from the site of the attack.
The bombing was part of a continuing escalation of violence in Balochistan, where armed groups regularly target security forces, state infrastructure, and facilities linked to natural resource extraction.
In January, the Balochistan Liberation Army carried out coordinated attacks on 18 sites across 12 districts of the province. Authorities said at least 58 people were killed.
Earlier this month, the group also organized road blockades leading to gold and copper mining regions where Chinese and Canadian companies operate and where Donald Trump’s administration had previously expressed interest in investment opportunities.
The Jaffer Express railway line has repeatedly been targeted in attacks.
In March 2025, BLA militants hijacked the Jaffer Express in a mountainous area of Balochistan, holding more than 400 passengers for nearly 36 hours. Pakistani authorities said 33 militants, 26 passengers, and five security personnel were killed during the rescue operation.
In November 2024, the group also claimed responsibility for a bombing at Quetta railway station that killed more than two dozen people waiting to board a train.