President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has sent condolences to Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif following the deadly terrorist attack in Quetta that killed 23 people and left 70 others injured.
The Uzbek president expressed sympathy to the families and loved ones of those killed and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
According to Anatoly Agency, the explosion took place on May 24 near a railway line in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. The blast partially damaged one of the trains and also affected several parked vehicles nearby, while windows in surrounding buildings were shattered by the force of the explosion.
Police said military personnel were on board the train, which had been heading toward a military barracks in Quetta. Preliminary reports indicated that a lone attacker drove a vehicle loaded with explosives into the train.
Following the attack, a state of emergency was declared in public hospitals across Quetta as medical teams responded to the large number of casualties.
Pakistan’s railway administration also temporarily stopped the Jaffar Express bound for Peshawar at Quetta station due to security concerns. Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the blast.
The incident follows another recent attack in Pakistan in which 12 police officers were killed after a vehicle explosion and gunfire at a police checkpoint.
