https://arab.news/ysy47
- Provincial health minister says many of the 32 injured are critical and being treated at Quetta’s Trauma Center
- Balochistan chief minister says security forces responded promptly and repelled the ‘cowardly’ militant attack
QUETTA: A powerful blast near the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, killed at least nine people and triggered a shootout in which four militants were slain, according to top provincial ministers on Tuesday.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is strategically significant for its vast mineral wealth and as a transit hub for the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Yet, the province has long been gripped by separatist violence, with groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) intensifying attacks in recent years.
So far, no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bombing.
“Nine people have been killed in the attack near the FC Headquarters,” Bakht Muhammad Kakar, provincial health minister, told Arab News after the attack. “Thirty-two injured of the blast have been shifted to a hospital in Quetta. Many of them are critical and being treated at the Trauma Center.”
Security officials cordon off the site after an explosion near the Frontier Corps Headquarters in Quetta on September 30, 2025. (AN Photo)
The minister did not provide further details, but CCTV footage of the incident reviewed by Arab News suggested it was a targeted suicide attack on the FC Balochistan compound.
Witnesses reported a plume of smoke rising from the site on Quetta’s Haali Road, followed by gunfire that continued for more than 10 minutes.
When asked how many soldiers were among the dead, Kakar said: “We cannot confirm yet since the rescue operation is still continuing.”
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti said in a statement later security forces had promptly responded to the assault and killed four militants.
He condemned the bombing as a “cowardly act” and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to making the province peaceful and secure.
Security officials cordon off the site after an explosion near the Frontier Corps Headquarters in Quetta on September 30, 2025. (AN Photo)
He also expressed solidarity with the victims’ families and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured.
Separatist militant groups in Balochistan accuse Pakistan of depriving locals of a fair share in the province’s natural resources, allegations Islamabad denies.
However, the province has witnessed a string of high-profile attacks since the beginning of the year. In March, the BLA hijacked a passenger train, and in May, a suicide bombing in Khuzdar killed several children after targeting their school bus.
Security forces, civilians and non-local workers are frequently targeted by separatist groups in the region, though authorities have mainly relied on intelligence-based operations rather than launching a full-scale military campaign.