Bombing near railway track in Pakistan kills at least 16

{"text":[[{"start":11.25,"text":"A bombing near a railway track in Quetta in south-western Pakistan killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more, according to state media."}],[{"start":20.05,"text":"The attack early on Sunday in the capital of the restive Balochistan province caused train cars near the Chaman Phatak station to overturn and catch fire, according to footage shared online."}],[{"start":31.450000000000003,"text":"Railways minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi said relief operations had been dispatched to the area following the incident of “cowardly terrorism”."}],[{"start":40.2,"text":"The Balochistan Liberation Army, a separatist group, claimed “full responsibility” for the attack, which they said had targeted a train carrying security personnel, according to a statement from the group that was seen by the FT."}],[{"start":53.1,"text":"Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the “heinous” attack, adding: “The entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Balochistan in this hour of grief.” "}],[{"start":63.8,"text":"Armed insurgents in Balochistan are seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government, accusing it of exploiting the natural resources of the province, the nation’s largest and least developed, and which borders Afghanistan and Iran and is rich in gas and minerals. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":81,"text":"The BLA in particular has contributed to a surge in violence that has destabilised Pakistan’s security situation. Last year, the group hijacked a train carrying hundreds of passengers in a dramatic assault."}],[{"start":93.35,"text":"Pakistan officials have accused arch-rival India of backing Baloch separatist groups, allegations New Delhi denies. Indian officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the latest attack."}],[{"start":105.64999999999999,"text":"Islamabad has also been engaged in sporadic recent hostilities with the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, which it formerly backed but accuses of harbouring cross-border militant groups. "}],[{"start":116.94999999999999,"text":"Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari claimed on Sunday that “enemy elements” were seeking “to divert attention from Pakistan’s global peace efforts”, referring to Islamabad’s mediation between the US and Iran to end the war in the Middle East. "}],[{"start":133.29999999999998,"text":"“The world should see the true face of the terrorists and their patrons, and how they are failing in their attempts to undermine Pakistan’s global peace efforts,” he said in a statement on X. "}],[{"start":143.74999999999997,"text":"Balochistan chief minister Sarfraz Bugti referred in a statement to the Quetta attackers as “terrorists of Fitna-ul-Hindustan”, a term Pakistan uses to suggest that militants in Balochistan are supported by India."}],[{"start":157.14999999999998,"text":"“There will be no safe haven left for terrorists in Balochistan. The terrorists, their facilitators and masterminds will be single-handedly brought to an end, and this war will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated,” he said."}],[{"start":171.34999999999997,"text":"The BLA has also targeted China-backed infrastructure and Chinese workers in the region, including the Gwadar Port, the flagship of the $62bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. CPEC is a centrepiece of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road overseas infrastructure investment programme."}],[{"start":190.29999999999995,"text":"Authorities’ heavy-handed counterinsurgency tactics, meanwhile, have further deepened hostility towards Islamabad in the province, according to analysts."}],[{"start":199.34999999999997,"text":"In August 2024, the BLA targeted bus passengers from the heartland Punjab province, killing at least 40, according to security officials."}],[{"start":216.64999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779668447_6166.mp3"}