Over 16 people were martyred, and several others sustained injuries in an explosion on the railway track near the Chaman Phatak area of Quetta on Sunday.
According to police sources, the blast occurred near Chaman Phatak when a train carrying passengers was crossing the area. The people on the train were going to their areas to celebrate Eid holidays, sources said.
As a result, 16 people were martyred, and several others, including children and women, suffered injuries.
The bodies and the injured are being shifted to the Civil Hospital. Vehicles parked along the track were damaged as a result of the explosion. Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) reached the site, cordoned off the entire area, and started an investigation.
Babar Yousafzai, Special Assistant on Interior in the government of Balochistan, said that that all concerned departments had been put on high alert. Relief and rescue operations were underway.
President Asif Ali Zardari, PM Shehbaz Sharif, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have strongly condemned the terror attack.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have condemned the terrorist incident in Quetta and expressed deep grief over the loss of innocent lives.
In their separate statements, they said such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan against this menace. The President said that elements hostile to Pakistan are attempting to undermine its initiatives that serve broader humanitarian objectives, global peace and progress. He said terrorists and their patrons are also seeking to disrupt Pakistan's focus on stability and development.
Asif Ali Zardari said there should be no doubt that Pakistan will defeat terrorists, their facilitators, financiers and those providing them safe havens. He added that the country will also thwart every conspiracy against peace, stability and national security. The President urged the world to recognize the true face of terrorists and their patrons who are attempting, unsuccessfully, to derail Pakistan's global peace efforts.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the government's determination to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
He expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured. He said the entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan in this hour of grief.
Reporters: Issa Tareen, Awais Kiyani