Saturday, March 29, 2025
QUETTA, PAKISTAN — A powerful car bomb explosion followed by gunfire outside the headquarters of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, has left at least 10 people dead and injured over 30 others. The blast, which rocked the vicinity of Zarghoon Road on Tuesday, was swiftly condemned by provincial and federal authorities.
The intense explosion, which witnesses described as “massive,” was captured by security footage showing a vehicle detonating near the security installation. Among the fatalities, Bakht Muhammad Kakar, the provincial health minister, confirmed that two were law enforcement personnel while the remaining victims were civilians.
An injured witness, Naresh Kumar, recalled his “mind just went blank” after the blast, which sprayed his arm and back with glass shards. Other individuals, like Inam, who was also working nearby, were injured by shrapnel and heard sustained gunfire until security forces secured the area.
Balochistan’s Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti officially labeled the incident a “terrorist attack” and confirmed that security forces neutralized at least four attackers following the explosion.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the assault. However, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari issued a strong condemnation, alleging that the “misguided extremists were acting on India’s agenda,” an accusation for which he provided no specific evidence and to which India has not yet responded.
The attack occurs in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest yet most impoverished and volatile province. Despite holding vast mineral wealth (including oil, gas, gold, and copper deposits at sites like Reko Diq), the region faces significant economic hardship. The province is also the site of the Gwadar deep-sea port, the crucial centerpiece of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Local resentment over perceived exploitation of these resources and Chinese investment has long fueled a separatist rebellion. Groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) have persistently attacked Chinese interests and government installations in their quest for an independent Balochistan.
