14 martyred, including three FC personnel, in terrorist attack on train in Quetta

14 people were martyred and several others injured on Sunday when terrorists targeted a train near Chaman Phatak in Quetta. Three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel are reported to be among the dead.

Following the incident, panic spread across the city while security forces cordoned off the area and launched an investigation.

According to police, the explosion occurred at approximately 8:15am near Chaman Phatak when the train was passing through the area. Railway officials said terrorists targeted the train, causing a fire to erupt in one of the bogies.

Fire brigade and rescue teams reached the site and initiated relief operations, while the injured were shifted to Civil Hospital, BMC, and other trauma centres where an emergency was declared.

According to authorities, women and children remain among those injured, while the condition of five injured persons is said to be critical.

According to sources, most of the passengers aboard the train were travelling to their native areas for the Eidul Azha holidays.

The explosion was so intense that the windows of nearby buildings and residential flats were shattered, while several vehicles also caught fire. According to police, a husband, wife, and their 13-year-old daughter residing in a nearby flat were also martyred in the explosion. Eyewitnesses said the sound of the blast was heard from far away, after which severe panic spread throughout the area.

Following the incident, security forces cordoned off the area and launched an investigation to determine the nature of the explosion. Checkpoints have been established at the city’s entry and exit points, and the checking process has been further tightened.

Further, train service on the affected track has been suspended, while railway heavy machinery remains engaged in clearing debris and restoring the track so that movement can be resumed as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the “heinous bomb explosion,” stating, “Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan.”

In a post on X, PM Shehbaz reaffirmed, “We remain steadfast in our determination to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”

The premier also expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, praying for the swift recovery of those injured.

“The entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan in this hour of grief,” PM Shehbaz concluded his statement.  

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti also condemned the attack, saying that the “terrorists of Fitna Al-Hindustan are proving their savagery by targeting innocent civilians, women, and children.”

He added, “Those who shed the blood of innocent people deserve no leniency.”

CM Bugti also issued a warning to terrorist elements in the region, saying “Let the enemy hear this: there will be no safe haven left for terrorists in Balochistan. We will hunt down the terrorists, their facilitators, and their masterminds one by one and bring them to justice, and this war will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated.”

Adviser to the Chief Minister Balochistan for Political and Media Affairs Shahid Rind said terrorists carried out a cowardly act by targeting unarmed civilians, women, and children. He added that attacks on public places are proof of the terrorists’ panic and that the blood of the martyrs will not go in vain.

Rind noted that CM Bugti is personally monitoring the situation. 

Further, according to Provincial Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar, an emergency has been declared at all major hospitals in the city, while doctors, paramedical staff, and medical personnel are providing medical assistance to the injured.

Read: Security forces kill TTP commander in Balochistan’s Pishin

On Saturday, nine suspected terrorists were killed, and four Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials were martyred during a gun battle on the outskirts of Quetta.

The high-stakes intelligence-based operation was carried out by the CTD and allied security forces in the suburban localities of Kuchlak and Nohsar.

Terrorism is a growing problem for Pakistan, with the number of attacks rising every year since 2022, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a global monitoring organisation.

Data from ACLED shows attacks in Pakistan rose nearly fourfold to 2,425 in 2025 from 658 in 2022 and over the same period, attacks by the banned militant Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan increased more than sevenfold to 838 from 118.

Although Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has borne the brunt of terrorism, Balochistan has also remained a major target of Indian proxies, which often target civilians and military installations in the province.