A horrific car bomb attack on Tuesday claimed the lives of at least 10 people outside a paramilitary force headquarters in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Local officials confirmed the casualties, marking the latest wave of violence in a region plagued by a fierce conflict between government security forces and separatist insurgents.
The devastating explosion, which also left more than two dozen wounded, plunged the heart of Quetta into chaos. Witnesses and CCTV footage captured plumes of smoke billowing into the sky, a stark indicator of the panic that gripped the bustling city.
Provincial health minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar reported that eight civilians and two paramilitary personnel were among the deceased. At least 26 injured individuals were rushed to hospitals. Additionally, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Balochistan’s top civilian official, stated that four militants were killed in a subsequent shootout with security forces.
By Tuesday afternoon in Pakistan, no group had yet taken responsibility for the assault. Quetta, a city of over 1.5 million residents, has historically been a target for both separatist factions and Islamist militants, who frequently attack security forces and government installations.
“There is nothing new in terms of the style of the attack, but it clearly shows how militants can hit in the heart of a large Pakistani city,” remarked Ifthikar Firdous, a security expert and co-founder of the Khorasan Diary, an Islamabad-based research publication focused on regional security.
Residents described scenes of terror and disarray in the city center, a vital area housing banks, national television offices, and the provincial parliament. Security forces swiftly sealed off the blast site, denying access to both reporters and civilians. Ambulances tirelessly transported casualties to overcrowded hospitals, where anxious families gathered outside emergency wards, desperately seeking updates on their loved ones.
“The explosion was so powerful I thought it had gone off inside our street,” shared Feroz Baraich, a trader living approximately 10 miles away, highlighting the immense reach of the blast.
Balochistan, strategically located along the borders of Afghanistan and Iran, has long endured severe violence. The province is rich in valuable natural resources like gas, gold, and copper. Its extensive coastline on the Arabian Sea also makes it a crucial transit point for the multi-billion-dollar Pakistan leg of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, featuring a deep-sea port that Beijing has been developing for years.
Groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (B.L.A.) have actively campaigned for the province’s secession and greater local control over its vast natural resources. Last March, the B.L.A. notably seized a train carrying over 400 passengers for more than 36 hours, an act considered one of Pakistan’s most daring assaults in years. The Trump administration subsequently designated the Baloch Liberation Army as a terrorist group.
The Pakistani Taliban has also emerged as a significant security threat recently, primarily targeting security forces. This has led the Pakistani military to launch extensive operations in the neighboring province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.