At least 20 people have been killed and more than 40 injured in a bomb blast at a train station in Pakistan.

The bomb exploded in the southwestern city of Quetta when nearly 100 passengers were waiting for a train to travel to Rawalpindi.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, have claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that a suicide bomber targeted troops at the railway station.

Government spokesman Shahid Rind said the bombing seemed to have been a suicide attack but an investigation was still ongoing to confirm the BLA’s claim.

TV footage showed the steel structure of the platform’s roof blown apart and a tea stall destroyed, with luggage littering the scene.

Image:
The bomb exploded as passengers were waiting for a train. Pic: Naseer Ahmed/Reuters

Inspector general of police for Balochistan, Mouzzam Jah Ansari, said many of the injured people are in critical condition.

“The target was army personnel from the Infantry School,” he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said those who orchestrated the attack “will pay a very heavy price for it,” adding that security forces were determined to eliminate “the menace of terrorism”.

The outlawed BLA has long waged an insurgency, seeking independence from Islamabad, often targeting security forces and foreigners.

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Last month, the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that targeted a convoy with Chinese nationals outside Karachi airport, killing two.

In August, at least 73 people were killed in Balochistan province after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways.

Balochistan, which is oil and mineral-rich, is Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, where separatist and Islamic militants operate.

It is also a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.