Commissioner of the Quetta Division, Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat, confirmed the death toll, and that the incident was a suicide bombing. Railway authorities were told to suspend train services, he said, and appealed for blood donations to help the wounded.
He warned the public not to use the railway station because “in such incidents, there is a risk of twin attacks”.
“Right now, we have cordoned off the city and are conducting snap-checking,” he said, “Gatherings have been banned.”
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran and is Pakistan’s largest province, has had many attacks from armed separatist groups in the poor but resource-rich region.
The BLA, which wants independence from Pakistan, is the biggest of several ethnic groups fighting the Government, which it accuses of exploiting its oil and gas reserves.
In August, the banned BLA claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks that killed 39 people. It is designated a terrorist group by the UK and the US.