A suspected suicide blast by an ethnic militant group rocked a crowded railway station in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan region this morning, killing at least 24 people and injuring 46 others. CCTV footage showed dozens of people waiting on the platform when the blast ripped through Quetta’s main railway station. Bodies were later seen scattered across the platform and the roof was blown away.

The blast occurred when the Jaffer express was about to depart for Peshawar, said a senior police official, adding that it seemed to be a suicide blast.

Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic militant group in the region, has claimed responsibility for the blast. Reports suggest the explosion occurred at the railway station’s booking office.

Law enforcement teams immediately secured the area and took the injured to the civil hospital in Quetta, said the provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind.

Officials said at least 46 injured were brought to the hospital in the aftermath of the blast. The hospital declared an emergency and called additional staff to attend the injured.

“The blast targeted army personnel from the Infantry School,” said Mouzzam Jah Ansari, the Inspector General of Police in Balochistan, confirming the 24 deaths.

The blast comes as Pakistan grapples with a rise in terror attacks by ethnic militant groups. Nearly three months ago, a wave of attacks on police stations and highways in Balochistan claimed at least 73 lives.

One person was killed and two others were injured when three men on a motorcycle opened fire on three friends returning home on a scooter last night in the Kabir Nagar area of North East Delhi. 

Nadeem and his two companions were en route to pick up food when the attackers ambushed them on a street. Nadeem was fatally shot, while his friend sustained serious injuries. The attackers fired seven rounds, before fleeing the scene with Nadeem’s scooter and mobile phone, leaving behind their own motorcycle.

Locals rushed to the scene and took the injured to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, where Nadeem died of his injuries. His companion, whose condition remains critical, is still undergoing treatment. The police have initiated a murder and attempted murder investigation, and the body has been sent for post-mortem.

The police have arrested three minors in connection with the incident. According to sources, one of the three arrested minors had reportedly borrowed money from Nadeem and had been pressured for repayment. Police investigations are ongoing, with authorities examining CCTV footage.

The attackers are also linked to a firing incident in nearby Jyoti Nagar. Police say the same group was involved in firing six rounds outside a man named Rahul’s house earlier that night. The three juveniles, arrested with three country-made pistols, are in custody, and interrogations are underway.

In a separate operation, Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested two key members of an arms supply syndicate, seizing 13 pistols. Shakeel, the main arms supplier, has been cahrged in over 17 criminal cases, including involvement in the Hanuman Jayanti riots in Jahangirpuri. More than 50 pistols have been recovered from various suppliers in the last week alone.

Sources told News18 that massive restructuring is in the works to reduce miscommunication, misinformation and increase best policing techniques